Photographers don't need exotic locations, expensive gear or professional models to make good pictures. As Zoe Spawton demonstrates each day with her blog What Ali Wore, being resourceful in one's everyday life is more than enough.
For nearly two years, Spawton has been taking simple street portraits of a Ali, a remarkably stylish man who lives in her Berlin neighborhood. Ali -- Spawton declined to give his last name -- is a local tailor, and her endearing photos focus on his meticulously crafted, thoughtfully designed and occasionally outlandish daily fashions.
“He’s actually made a lot of his clothes, particularly his suits,” says Spawton, 30, who is from Melbourne, Australia. “And he used to be a shoemaker, so he made all the shoes, and they are the exact same but in different colors.”
Spawton first noticed Ali while she was setting up the chairs and tables outside the café where she works. Ali, who is 84, would walk by each day on his way to work, and before long they were acknowledging each other. At first, it was just a polite nod or smile. Eventually, though, Spawton gathered the courage to ask Ali if she could take his photo because he was so nicely dressed.
“At first he was hesitant and you can see it in his pose in that first picture,” she says. “But over time he’s gotten a lot more confident.”
Spawton says she’s photographed 80 or so outfits in the time they’ve known each other. Just when she thinks he can't possibly have still another outfit and she'll finally run out of things to photograph, he'll appear in something new. Or at least new to her.
“Just last week he was rocking this Matrix-style leather jacket that I had never seen before,” she says. “There is always a surprise.”
The two have long since become friends. There’s a bit of a language barrier because Ali is from Turkey and speaks Turkish and German. Spawton speaks English but is learning German, and they find a way to make it work. He’s invited her to join him when he and his boss do things like visit an orchard to pick apples. And she's invited him to the park with her friends on May Day. Ali has a big family, but none of his relatives live in Berlin, and so he lives alone and enjoys being social.
“At times I think about ending the project, but at the same time I know that he really enjoys the interaction,” she says.
What Ali Wore has developed a strong following and amassed several million hits. It won the prestigious Lead Award in Germany for blog of the year, so Spawton and Ali made the two-hour trip to Hamburg to accept the award. She’s also been interviewed by journalists around the world, and has been featured on television morning shows in Japan, where Ali is a hit.
“It’s been pretty touching,” she says.
