As the cult of street-style photography continues to grow, so has its frequency of use in various ad campaigns for fashion brands, the most recent being Topshop's FallWinter 2010 ads for its "Freedom at Topshop" jewelry line, for which it tapped Tommy Ton of Jak & Jil.
There's something about scanning street shots of normal people with fantastic style that can turn into an hours-long pursuit in front of the computer screen. It's an addictive sport that's turned many viewers into actual players, although it takes more than just an eye for style to really elevate the genre. Ton, along with Scott Schuman of the Sartorialist, and Yvan Rodic of Facehunter is credited for revolutionizing the digital street photography and photo-blogging scene into something that could be actually considered a legitimate "genre," which is no surprise that he was enlisted to shoot Topshop's latest campaign. Schuman's been at it for years now, first with an ad series for DKNY jeans—for which many scenes were photographed at his usual hot spots—and later for Burberry, while fellow photographer and lady friend Garance Dore recently-wrapped up fall 2010 campaigns for Moschino and Club Monaco.
And while a number of the professional gigs, Topshop's included, still opt to use professional models (which we often on the street-style blogs anyways—especially with the latest occurrence fashion weeks here in New York and Europe), presenting real life-like looks in a more natural setting—on the street, on the go—definitely helps sell the goods.
