Toni Maticevski Lost 7000 Followers When He Posted These Photos. Now He’s Made a Book Based on Them

Australian fashion designer Toni Maticevski is notoriously private. Now, he’s unveiled what may just be his most personal work so far: a photography book capturing the beauty and power of the male form. 

Maticevski putting out a book of portraiture is slightly ironic, as the couturier hates having his photo taken. That was the catalyst for this entire project. Seven or eight years ago, he reached out to photographer friend Jordan Graham to take what he wanted to be his “last portrait”. “I was like, ‘Okay, look. I want to do this series, and I want to push the bar a little bit, and I’ve got these concepts I want to try out,” says Maticevski.

Alongside another friend, model Fabricio Bittencourt, Maticevski convened with Graham in New York City for a couple of days, where the trio co-created this photography series. The end results were provocative and powerful. Black-and-white portraits frame Maticevski in a soft V-neck top and blazer. Behind him is Bittencourt; naked, with his legs apart. In the hero shots, Maticevski is looking down the barrel of the camera, his head covering Bittencourt’s crotch.

Then, Maticevski shared these photos on Instagram. Overnight, he lost nearly 7000 followers. Some of his professional clients reached out too, expressing concern and telling him it was “not the right thing to do”. “It was kind of absurd,” he says. “After seeing what the response was … it sort of gave me a reason to also validate my feelings about not having my picture taken anymore.”

The ensuing discomfort and outrage online intrigued Maticevski, who took these reactions and used them as inspiration for his photography book, The Way I See You. “I didn’t realise that [the photos] were that confronting. I think people have a version of you that they’re comfortable with, and, well, I’m not the first homosexual designer to be out there.

“There’s something really important about making an image that makes people feel a certain way, whether it’s uncomfortable or questioning or even reassessing how they view things … I love that idea that creating a beautiful moment still feels uncomfortable, and how bizarre that concept is to marry those two, that idea of something beautiful being uncomfortable.”

The Way I See You has been seven years in the making. The coffee-table book will be the first of three volumes, with the second edition already close to going to print. Over 150 people sat for Maticevski, ranging from friends and colleagues to artists and dancers.

The book’s sensual and intimate subject matter is not an explicit comment on queerness, he says. His own sexuality isn’t a focus of the series. “I’d say 50 per cent of the people that are in the book are not queer. To have that engagement with men who respond to being seen as beautiful and sensual outside of their sexuality was the most beautiful part of the whole thing – that was the intention.”

His photography process mirrored his early fashion days, when he would sit one-on-one with clients. “It would just be this thing of getting a read on the person; what they like, what they don’t like, how they’re comfortable, how they’re uncomfortable, what they’re willing to explore,” he says. “How far can I push someone outside of those confines that they construct for themselves? … It’s the same idea of seeing someone let go from the idea of themselves, which is where the magic happens.”

This ethos is intrinsic to both fashion and photography. There needs to be trust in the process and between the maker and the muse. Just like his approach to womenswear, Maticevski’s photographic style is heavily directed by sculptural shapes. At times, he even physically moved his subjects into certain positions.

A byproduct of this new creative venture was a renewed confidence in his fashion instincts. “I’ve definitely found my approach to fashion has altered since I started doing this. Because I was so enamoured with design for the longest time, I would take it very personally. Then all of a sudden, when I started doing this project, my approach to fashion almost shifted overnight … It’s given me this complete freedom to just go, ‘I know what I’m doing. I can do it with my eyes closed.”

Despite the negative reception Maticevski’s photographs received on Instagram seven years ago, he’s feeling content about the release of The Way I See You. “Because I don’t need permission to create it, I don’t need validation in terms of financial success for it, there’s a real freedom to whatever the outcome is, whether it’s good or positive or negative. It doesn’t really matter. I think the fact that the work exists, that’s all that matters.”

Toni Maticevski’s The Way I See You is available for purchase from the designer’s website.