For Lauren Manoogian, photographing a new collection typically involves an architectural backdrop or point of reference. Last season, she shot her lookbook in the Axel Vervoordt–designed penthouse atop the Greenwich Hotel in downtown New York. For spring 2020, it was Philip Johnson’s Glass House in Connecticut. Manoogian’s earthy, tonal, and textural designs befit those types of settings: structures and landscapes that speak to her sculptural, wabi-sabi knits and accessories. But this season was obviously different. Due to the pandemic, Manoogian was confined to her studio in Brooklyn and as such, her resort lineup, based on some greatest hits and forgotten gems from her archive, had to be captured with a more localized, low-key approach.
She hired two models, one that came in the morning and one in the afternoon, and photographed the clothes inside the studio with natural light and a backdrop made from items she picked up at the local hardware store. The finished images are unretouched, further emphasizing the organic look and feel of Manoogian’s new pieces. Soft blue and gray turtleneck dresses and bouclé blanket capes looked right at home in the serene, natural setting of Manoogian’s at-home studio. So too did the roomy, oversized trousers, cozy cardigans, and indoor-outdoor robes.
Manoogian’s designs are grounding and unfussy but still striking, ideal for uncertain times like ours. And even without a big name architect or artist attached to the backdrop, there is power in her craft. The work really speaks for itself, plain and simple.
