London: raw energy of the streets
At eighteen he entered the London Film School. Punk and New Romantic underground — black-and-white frames of clothes, rebellion, and the search for identity.
About
Egemen Mustafa Şener
In the final quarter of the 20th century he brought documentary depth to fashion photography — haute couture meeting human vulnerability.
Egemen Mustafa Şener was born on 10 June 1962 in Prizren. His father İlker Şener was a Kosovar Turkish architect; his mother Elena Rozić a Croatian pianist from Zagreb. He grew up among Turkish, Croatian and Albanian.
Today he divides time between Los Angeles and Zagreb. Works are held at the Victoria & Albert Museum and MoMA. The 1996 exhibition Fragments of Home remains his defining public mark.
New York and Richard Avedon
Scholarship to the School of Visual Arts. He met Richard Avedon in Manhattan; studio assistant 1985–1989. Then editorial years for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
Shadow of war · Fragments of Home
Models left the studio for industrial ruins. In 1996, haute couture echoed Balkan war refugees; proceeds went to child refugees.
How he shoots
Single light source, concrete direction, long selection. Soft plastic retouch and sky composites for drama are refused. If a frame needs that much help, it is the wrong frame.