Recap: Dan Bassini's "No Invite" Zine Launch at the Lomography Gallery Store New York City

Dan Bassini's third edition of his zine No Invite details the famous New York Fashion week. The NYC-based photographer has been capturing the NYFW from an outsider's perspective. With no network or inner knowledge of the almost secretive industry, Dan is able to capture the essence of fashion from a fresh and new perspective. Described by Dan himself as:

"No Invite is a series focused on capturing Fashion Week by any means necessary. With a lifelong interest in fashion, and no connection to the industry, I set out to shoot the beauty and chaos the only way I knew how. Sneaking into parties, subverting security, and hitting the streets. Shot entirely on 35mm compact cameras, No Invite is a unique look into the fashion world, even when your name isn’t on the guest list."

We got to sit and ask him a few questions about the zine.

Any favorite moments from shooting NYFW?

One of my favorite moments from NYFW happened last September. Slick Woods was coming out of the Helmut Lang show in SoHo and got mobbed by fans and photographers. After the chaos subsided, her and her crew went down the block to wait for their car. I walked over saying I know she just got mobbed, but if I could take one last photo. She agreed and when my flash went off, she says to me, “You got that 35mm, that’s how I know you ain’t a bitch.” and it might be my favorite compliment ever. I chose it for the quote on the title page of Volume 3.

Also, this season, I snuck into the Black Panther Fashion Party where they debuted a capsule collection from designers inspired by the movie. The cast was there doing press and Heron Preston was DJing. It’s going to be real hard to top that next year.

What is/are your favorite photo(s) from the zine?

One of my favorite photos from the latest zine is of actress Alexandra Daddario. She has these icy blue eyes that I spotted from down the block. I caught up with her as she was waiting to cross the street near Spring Studios and was able to ask for her photo right before the light changed and then she was gone. I couldn’t find anyone else who got her photo during NYFW and the light that day was awesome.

I really love how the photo that ended up being the cover came out as well. That guy was dressed so outlandish and was obviously looking to be seen, but when I got up close, the look in his eyes is so engaging.

What challenges did you face both photographing and formatting the zine?

This last season had so many challenges I wasn’t necessarily prepared for. I felt like the last book had almost put itself together so I went into this season thinking it would easy, I was immediately humbled. Being February, it was brutally cold for most of the week and it rained almost every day. The central hub of fashion week was moved to Spring Studios which was surrounded by construction and much smaller than Skylight which was the previous location the last few years. Much more shows were located off-site, so finding the locations was a bit tough.

The combinations of the poor weather, bitter cold, and my camera developing a light leak; I felt like I was over-shooting and over-compensating to try and get the photos I needed. Fortunately, the last 2 days of the week had some sun and I was able to get the photos I needed to fill out the book.

How’d you enjoy the launch?

The launch at the Lomography Store was better than I imagined. I showed 144 prints total which took a full day to hang. The response was excellent, I had some old friends from back home come up to the city to see it, as well as a lot of new people excited to see the show. It was an awesome experience and Lomography couldn’t have been a better place to do the show.

The show was a huge hit, bringing in new and old faces. We're anticipating Dan's next photo adventure!

You can purchase "No Invite" here & follow Dan on his Instagram

written by sarahlindsayk on 2018-05-19 #news