Melbourne's GPO

To celebrate our first edition of Style Spy, we invited photographer Giang Cao of Through the Looking Glass to kick off the series by showcasing some of his prior work spotting and capturing images of stylish people around town. We asked Giang a few questions;

What got you interested in fashion and fashion street photography?

I think my fascination for fashion has always been with me. I’ve always been a creative person. I love drawing, painting (when I have the time) and I eventually grew into photography. After dropping out of uni doing Industrial Design, I had a couple of months figuring what I wanted to do next. So with my two months of nothing to do, I bought a decent camera and started taking random shots. What got me specifically focused on street style photography was the lack of quality in coverage for Melbourne. I also noticed there were sites doing only a certain segment of people. My aim was to bring a depth of commentary, not only to style but to Melbourne as a whole.

Are there any other photographers that influence you or that you think are doing great things with street fashion photography?

You can’t go past the King & Queen of street fashion photography – Scott ‘The Sartorialist’ Schuman and Garance Dore. What I admire about Scott is not just his photography but how he has grown his blog into a real brand and made himself a hot commodity. I love Garance’s photography. I feel like it transcends the idea of just ’street style’. It becomes much more about the person, than the clothes. I find that so alluring.

Another thing I like to do is look through the Pulitzer Prize winning photographs in Breaking News Photography. I just love the idea of capturing the perfect moment – that split second. It’s a reminder that people are captivating, not necessarily their clothes.

Describe your personal sense of style…

Preppy, but not sickly so. Simple, but curated. Laid-back, but tucked-in.

Every Wednesday on the site from now on we’ll be featuring the style of Melburnians and visitors in and around Melbourne’s GPO. You may be one of the chic elite to be spotted next and win movie tickets or other special goodies. Pssst…If you really want to attend the Moonee Valley Cox Plate on us it would be a good bet to do a little window shopping at Melbourne’s GPO next Tuesday morning.

Posted under Style Spy.