How many yards do you need to travel before your life starts being different? As we grow up, we will gradually find that the world is no longer as pure as we felt when we were young. We even go around in a big circle before we gradually discover that our style has begun to disappear. And now we feel we are becoming a small gear in this society. So how do you get back to the inner self that you once had? Perhaps recorded images can make us remember the crazy past and rescue ourselves from the abyss like a lifebuoy.
Fashion photographer Robert Spangle, who wanders the Internet with the name ‘thousandyardstyle’. He is not only a photographer, but also the founder of leather goods brand Observe Collection, and an observer who likes to document the world through the lens. However, while this pandemic disrupted his plan to travel around the world it did not change his worldview. "My beliefs have remained the same and are stronger now. I believed in travel before, in globalism and meritocracy. Now I believe these things are more important than ever to creating a better world."
"Fashion has also become very vocal and politicised"
The fashion industry is not only about designers and models, photographers also have an important role in this industry. For Robert, the cancelled fashion week and the suspended retail business symbolise the beginning of a change in the industry. "Many of the changes that occurred have changed the format or model of fashion (like fashion weeks, or retail) to something that is more direct and modern. Fashion has also become very vocal and politicised which I think detracts from its art. It will take some time to normalise again but I think it will be for the better.”
"Liberty is a quality in a society
that has tolerance for the freedom of its people."
Excluding those commercial activities, as a creator, if you lose your freedom, how can you ignite another spark? And what is left of photographers who have lost the ability to create as they please? So, when asked about Freedom and Liberty he said: "To me Freedom is the physical ability to do as you wish, Liberty is a quality of a society that has tolerance for the freedom of its people. Tolerance for different ideas, identities. Freedom gives us the ability to create liberty within a society, so I value it a little more, even if liberty is the better feeling"
Language is very mysterious. When you translate word by word, you will definitely encounter many difficulties. But when you understand the transformation in your mind, then the new world between the two differences will always surprise you. Perhaps this is the most interesting part of this world. Anything boring can be interesting. It seems that two irrelevant parallel lines will eventually have a way to intersect in this universe. "During the quarantine I have missed traveling and the feeling of liberty you have when exploring a new place on your own. This is the feeling of living life to it’s fullest potential, of a world that’s becoming better each day, of a world that creates bonds across cultures more than it isolates.” At the end of the interview, Robert pointed out the impact of the world’s lockdown.
Perhaps this is the so-called freedom. When the freedom that you once had has vanished, what remains is the unfettered freedom that you once felt in your life.
#RobertSpangle #NostalgiaofLiberty #ObserveCollection #Photographer
