By Beatrix Zwart

For our main beauty shoot in this Colour Issue we teamed up with talented photographer, Frederic Aranda. Frederic adapted his signature personal man's beauty series as featured on his website and produced us some wonderful shots...which I have to say are truly unique and look fantastic! Wanting to find out more, we get chatting to the man himself....

f156: At fashion156 we're great admirers of your beautiful portraits. I see from your portfolio that you've worked with a lot of famous people, who stood out for you and why?
FA: They all did in their own way... I'm lucky to do something where people come to me with their biggest smile and a charming attitude.


f156: Whilst I see that you've already covered many celebrated people... if there was any one person you could photograph, who would it be and why?
FA: I don't really know, I don't tend to think like that anymore. I'd rather spend my time thinking about how to photograph someone- whether it's introducing a narrative, a situation, an emotion.


f156: Moving onto specifics then... so you have elaborated on your men's beauty series as featured on your website for our beauty shoot.... I have to say that I just love the concept here... the body submerged in water with only the face showing is very clever and makes for striking viewing and interesting imagery... how did you come by this ingenious idea?
FA: This shoot is about colour and the use of colour as an extension of beauty. Colour is life, emotion, power. It empowers people to communicate things on a conscious and subliminal level, whether it's their state of mind, their sexuality, their fantasies... I was experimenting with paint recently and drew inspiration from the tribal painting of the Karo tribe of the Omo delta in Ethiopia... the way they apply white paint on their faces and bodies, what this could possibly mean and how that could bring beauty out, emphasise bone structure or the charm of beautiful eyes. That paint helps the viewer to concentrate on what is important in the physique, the shape and texture of it. I think this is what Herb Ritts was doing with his white mud as body paint series, or Boo Ritson on a conceptual level with painting the shape of modern stereotypes. All of these things are extra devices to display people, introducing an element of fantasy, where people can let go of themselves. It's disguise, although this disguise is deceptively true to life. I firmly believe that it is possible to take a successful portrait of someone without even showing their real face- as you can see in the Brunsendorf series, Joerg was wearing a mask and it's still a bloody good portrait! Sometimes people need all of that to be themselves.

f156: I see from your personal section on your website that the body submerged in water is a recurrent theme... what is it that particularly inspires you by these series?
FA: Water is life. The water in these photos is support, a background for purely visual purposes, and it helps to bring out new emotions in people. It presents an element of risk, it's unpredictable, it helps bring a photo to life.

f156: So going back to our beauty shoot then... you mentioned that you're doing a few things differently this time... pushing things further... what exactly do you mean by this and more importantly what can we expect to see?... It all sounds very intriguing...
FA: I'm excited! All the models have given me full artistic license and have been very patient, as it's a long technical process. I have an amazing team: Louise Darford doing the makeup, Luke Lehmann on the hair- together we've pushed things much further.. a new palette of colours and textures, incorporating elements of clothing too. Expect an explosion of colour on a human backdrop!

f156: You also mentioned that you'll be using a model in her early twenties and an ex-model in her late fifites... I love the contrast, what made you decide to choose these two?
FA: Well, I wish mature women were more visible nowadays... For some people, youth is synonymous with beauty, but I believe beauty is experience, passion, love.

f156: Looking at your Features section on the website, I really enjoyed your new project, Three Thousand Rabbis, Brooklyn, New York... I have to say your portrayal is spot on. I particularly love the image in the library with the mountain of books... you've managed to capture each moment perfectly, I really feel as if I'm present. Indeed, each picture is so life like... how did you achieve this and what was your inspiration behind this modest idea?
FA: Yeah that library was quite something! The series has a documentary feel to it although I believe it's more about fashion: it explores the orthodox Jewish universe and their fascinating rituals, their lifestyle, their spirituality as reflected in their appearance. I spent a lot of time with them and it destroyed my preconceptions- they are surprisingly open-minded and fun, they love to get drunk and dance, they are very human yet they know that they are the odd ones out. So even though I was surrounded by three thousand rabbis, they still gave me the respect that I deserve as an individual with a different background. They didn't try to change the way I am or to judge the choices I have made. It was a pleasure shooting them and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Watch out for my new 'Jewish beauty' series, "Rabbi Graffiti", where I photographed orthodox Jewish fashion and beauty using paint and water, similar to the beauty series I've done for you, but with more graphic punch and a play on the monochrome nature of orthodox-wear.

f156: Finally... I know you're a busy man but before I let you go just one last thing... if you had to sum up your photography in one sentence what would it be?
FA: Alexis Colby vs Krystal Carrington in a fountain.