Student Photography Brings Philly Fashion to Life

A few years ago, Kara Crombie, associate professor and department head of Photographic Imaging at CCP, had the idea to create a fashion zine inspired by the work of Jamel Shabazz, a prominent fashion, fine art, documentary, and street-style photographer. “I’ve always loved street fashion zines,” Kara said. “There are some that come out of Japan and countries in Africa. And I think some of the most beautiful people are right here on this campus.” So, Kara wanted to showcase just what Philly style is made of. This year, the zine, titled Philly’s Finest, is in its third iteration and is helping to showcase not only incredible student work, but our city’s unique fashion scene too.

“This is our chance to represent Philly and all different subcultures of Philly,” said Hannah Price, instructional aid for the Photographic Imaging department. Hannah is the leader of this project and the one who makes it come to life. She collects submissions from students, chooses the images and the order in which they will appear, and works with a student graphic designer to create the zine. “Terry Peterson is one of the Graphic Design professors here, and he always links me with a great student designer,” Hannah said.

This year’s student designer was Connor DiMartino. “I had a lot of fun with it,” Connor said. “Hannah gave me a lot of creative freedom.” But Connor didn’t take his freedom too far. He wanted to do each photograph justice and create something that really brought out the talent of each photographer. “I didn’t want to obscure people’s photographs. So, I took extra care with it.”

Students from across campus are invited to submit their photographs for inclusion in the zine, and Hannah encourages them to approach this project in the same vein as the inspiration, Jamel Shabazz. “Students always kind of have a harder time approaching a stranger,” Hannah said. “So, I see this as the catalyst of them approaching people they’ve never met before.” Sanaa Desper, a student in the department, said she was nervous to ask people at first. “I was shooting in between classes and doing a loop around City Hall, and I saw this guy in a red jacket,” Sanaa said. “I was scared that if people were around when I went up to him and he said no, that I would feel embarrassed.” But Sanaa mustered up the courage to ask him once there were fewer people around. And she’s so glad she did. “When I asked him, he was like, ‘Of course! How should I pose?’”

This year is also the first year that the book launch event was accompanied by larger format printed versions of a select number of the photographs included in the zine. “I think the physical aspect that it’s like in your hands, and they get to take it home and being published on print, I think that’s really exciting for [students],” Hannah said. In the digital age, students tend to feel more accomplished seeing their work published physically. In addition to feeling proud to see her own work in print, Sanaa is also happy to have something with her peers’ work in it too. “We’re all here together. I love it,” she said.

As for future plans for the zine, Hannah said she wants to be able to make it available for purchase someday or have it displayed in local shops and stores. “I would love to put some in like brunch waiting rooms you know, or coffee shops, the city library.” She hopes someday it becomes well-known enough that people will recognize when students are taking photos for the zine and feel excited to be included.

Until then, the zine can be viewed online at sites.google.com/view/ccp-photography/home.