“Dress Code.” Photos by Stephane Gizart
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“Dress Code.” Photos by Stephane Gizart

September 17, 2008 at 23:11 | Oksana Faryna
Stephane Gizart is known for his photos of famous stars, including American actor and director Christopher Walken, actor Peter Falk (a.k.a Lieutenant Columbo), singers Lionel Richie and Alanis Morissette.

Stephane Gizart is known for his photos of famous stars, including American actor and director Christopher Walken, actor Peter Falk (a.k.a Lieutenant Columbo), singers Lionel Richie and Alanis Morissette. But for his latest show, Gizart turned his eye to the bright and expressive strangers and crowds found among Paris’ youth. The project formula is simple: eight months were spent street casting in Paris to find the most fashionable styles, followed by five days of photographing 200 teenagers. The result is the “Dress Code” exhibition which consists of studio portraits of teenagers wearing their own clothing and styles. It’s a portrait of a new generation of fashion and the new face of Paris. Ambiguity, mixture and diversity are this show’s calling cards. “They walk and pretend nobody is watching them. But they know everybody is staring at them. In their manner of dress you can hear a hidden appeal: look at me,” writer Philip Besson commented on the exhibition. “However don’t think they are weak-willed. They can be disobedient and self-assertive. They are sexually uncertain, indifferent, emancipated. Girls have firmness in their look; boys freely demonstrate their feminine features. The future belongs to them.”

FRENCH CULTURAL CENTER (104 Gorkogo, 529-2759). Through Oct. 18.