WORDS HUGO FERNANDES - PHOTOGRAPHY IEVA LASMANE
Fashion and documentary photographer Ieva Lasmane takes us to Riga, Latvia for a candid journey into the Eastern European landscapes where tender looking boys explore the contrasting views where urban meets nature. Using this trip as an opportunity to get away from the business of London, Ieva pursues the peace and quiet the countryside can offer in a genuine and raw form. Featuring Augusts, Serge, Rihards, and Karlis at Bro Models, this photo document does not focus on the fashion element but instead on the landscape that surrounds it, in fact, it seeks to use fashion as an accessory to the environment.
The boys, all living in the city, are taken away from the rush and worries found in the urban jungle and moved into an environment of peace and emotional stillness. Their personal connection with their new environment is capture by Lesmane in a raw and honest form, maintaining a true connection to the raw surroundings. Ieva's seemingly effortless juxtaposition of the two contrasting landscapes is precise and undisturbed, where the early summer swim in the lake and lay-downs on the grass have as a backdrop the grey concrete buildings seen in the city.
The fashion element is a gentle work-wear assemble where heritage tailoring is softened by the feminine touch of light pinks and ruffles, laces, and pastels. The perception of what is masculine and feminine is questioned while being combined harmoniously just as the urban and green landscapes.
