Vancouver-based photographer Hana Pesut’s dual portrait series, Switcheroo, takes a gender-bending look at street-style fashion by having couples exchange complete looks – all the way down to the shoes and even hairstyles. Her captivating before and after photos challenge the concept of dressing according to gender and they also flirt with the notion of how clothes shape our identity. And last but not least, they’ll have you laughing. Just try not to chuckle seeing a guy wearing his girlfriend’s too small strapless jumpsuit, turban and platform sandals. Go ahead try. Pesut took some time out from messing with our collective heads to answer a few questions about her eccentric images.
Switcheroo offers a unique perspective on style photographs. How did the idea come to fruition?
I was camping with some friends about two years ago and two of them were dressed very different from each other. One was wearing tie dye, sequins and lots of silk scarves, and everything was very bright and the other was wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt, so we thought it would be fun if they switched outfits. I decided to take before and after photos.
The change of outfit completely alters our perception of who these men and women are…
When I first started, I just thought it was an interesting approach to taking a portrait but after taking so many and seeing people’s reactions, I’ve realized it has been interpreted in many different ways. I think the project shows that the difference between what is considered ‘men’s’ clothes and what is ‘women’s’ clothes is diminishing. My mom recently told me that when she was a kid she wasn’t allowed to wear pants or jeans, she had to wear a skirt or a dress. It wasn’t acceptable for women to wear men’s clothing and vice versa. Now, it seems that almost anything goes. Yes, some of the people in these photos look ridiculous but people shouldn’t be limited to what they can and can’t wear. In most of the photos the women look good in both and the men seem to be getting the short end of the stick; however, there are a few where the men can actually pull off the short dress and high heels. Some men even find that they are quite comfortable.
How do you find your subjects? Are they all couples?
At first I just started asking my friends (mostly couples but not limited to) and it was actually quite hard to convince some of them at first. Friends starting referring me to other friends and now I have people from all over the world whom I’ve never met emailing me to participate; which I find very encouraging.
-Alexandra Phanor-Faury
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https://www.alexandraphanor.com/photographer-hana-pesut-gets-couples-to-switch-clothes/
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