'Yearning, burning.... For you to justify my love.'
One of the questions I usually ask models is how they got their start in the beginning. Was it a life long dream or something they fell into. The stories are varied and for Belgium model Nizar M, completely unplanned. Nizar is a student and says although he was always a bit curious about fashion and photography, never really ventured into it, unless of course you count watching a bit too much of fashion TV.
'I was picked (by chance as I was shopping in Brussels) for a local model competition. This allowed me to actually be in the middle of this world I've always seen from a distance. I got to do training seminars, runway shows and photo shoots with people who have a lot of experience in this domain. This really opened my appetite and made me want more as I felt really at ease in front of the camera and enjoyed working with the photographers.'
When going through Nizar's portfolio, many of my favorite images were from Rotterdam photographer Wim de Roo. I have long been a fan of the artists work, especially his vintage black & white theme. These images represent two of the themes Nizar shot with Wim. The images above were inspired by Madonna's Justify My Love video. Both Nizar and Wim are big Madonna fans, and Justify My Love one the singers most controversial videos, it was even banned from MTV due to it's sexual themes and imagery.
The second set of images uses Wim's love of vintage uniforms, and those in, and out of them. Wim's background as a stylist and designer is evident within the images, and the story. Nizar's sailor appears on leave, I just haven't figured out whether he is getting ready to hit the town, or is just getting back from an evening out.
'This was my 1st shoot with Wim. We wanted to recreate the sailor theme in a vintage black and white look. Wim has a long experience in creating sets and shooting the naked male body in his vintage settings. As for me, I felt at ease in front of Wim's camera especially that I've always been a fan of the whole sailor/Jean-Paul Gaultier theme.'
