Manfrotto Imagine More & An Interview with Simon Doonan

Image Courtesy of Manfrotto

The luminous Italian professional photography product company, Manfrotto, launched their global manifesto “Imagine More” in New York City with a panel and huge party in downtown Manhattan, challenging creatives everywhere to redefine creativity. On the panel sat a slew of impressive thought leaders like Barney’s Simon Doonan, DJ Mia Moretti, chef and food activist Marcus Samuelsson, actress Violante Placido, with the panel led by photographer Chase Jarvis.

Everyone had such interesting things to share about their views on creativity and what our imaginations can allow us to achieve. As the panel ended, guests flooded the next room of cameras flashing everywhere, while Joy Bryant, Ally Hilfiger and Georgia May Jagger posed for photos. In the meanwhile, I got the distinct opportunity to sit down and chat with the cheekiest of the Imagine More panelists, Simon Doonan, to chat creativity, Beyonce, Irving Penn and those striking window displays.

Images Courtesy of Manfrotto

Lala Lopez: It’s such a great manifesto that Manfrotto has: “Imagine More”. I love the idea that Chase was talking about earlier about the democratization of creativity. You hear about the democratization of fashion, of social media, but the democratization of creativity – that’s so interesting. How do you feel that your beliefs fall in line with Manfrotto’s manifesto of Imagine More?
Simon Doonan: I think it’s very exciting that everyone in the world can now be a photographer or a creative person. That’s great. But I would hate us to lose a sense of that some people are better than others. Some people have to emerge as the geniuses that inspire everybody else. Everybody isn’t as creative, some people are lot more creative than a lot of other people, some are a lot more visionary. I just hope that it doesn’t flatten everything out. Everything is not equal. Like Azzedine Alaia is the better dress designer than most other people that are having runway shows, because he is just brilliant. Irving Penn is a more extraordinary photographer than a lot of people. I hope that people are able to emerge above.

LL: And also, to filter out the noise, because there is a lot of noise.
SD: Yeah, because everybody really wants to have their socks blown off. That’s why American Idol is so successful because [there is] somebody who has a supreme God given talent. That’s why I’m always looking for something that I couldn’t do in a million years. Like you know, Beyonce, she’s an extraordinary girl. She came in front of the president, belted out that song, she’s relaxed, and we know it’s perfect. That is some impressive next level shit. So, I don’t want to lose that thing where there is no hierarchy. There is a hierarchy.

LL: I have to agree with you on some levels. It can be great that everyone is creative and we’re all doing these wonderful things but what does that mean for the next true visionaries, true thought leaders, true geniuses. How has your role at Barney’s allowed you to push yourself creatively and at the same time allowed you to maintain your vision?
SD: I’ve been very lucky to have my job at Barney’s for so long. The thing is that the window display, in particular, is very free. Like if I did a crappy window, it’s gone. If I do an amazing window, hey, then that’s pretty groovy. It’s very much like: you win some, you lose some. There’s a certain freeness to it, that you don’t necessarily get with other mediums. I’ve been very lucky to be involved in something so ephemeral, something so disposable.

Image Courtesy of Manfrotto

LL: I know you spoke a little bit about your Manfrotto tripod on the panel, but how has photography played a part in your work and also in the things that you’ve been able to do creatively?
SD: I think by discovering photography, for every creative person is a very important thing. We see that Irving Penn fashion picture and think ‘What? This woman has got this small waist and this deranged pose.’ It blows your mind. And when you first see those Diane Arbus pictures of twins and ugly people who seem beautiful and the daring aspect of that. And you walk your way through the Avedon’s and the Irving Penn’s and Steven Meisel. I’m always excited to see a Steven Meisel shot, I can’t wait to see it, because he’s so genius.

Discovering photography and looking at the grand masters of it, that’s a great little personal journey for any creative person. And I love the obscure ones, like one really good one that you would really love is Madame Yevonde. You won’t believe what she did. She would take society women and dress them up like goddesses and put twigs in their hair. When you actually discover these obscure photographers, that’s really powerful.

LL: It allows your mind to wander in new places, and can bring these new things that you never even thought were possible.
SD: Susan Sontag she said that photography was about death. Because every picture you look at, you’re [either] looking at people who are dead or who are going to die. It’s like this horrible reminder of mortality.

If you want to Imagine More too, check out Manfrotto’s Facebook page of inspiring photos and creatives, here. And keep up with the world of Simon Doonan, here.