Long, Strange Trip: Jim Mangan Captures Fall’s Best Outerwear
For this installment of the Cut’s Out of the Box, photographer Jim Mangan carried our trunk full of Gucci capes, rag & bone coats, and Prada furs — along with five friends and an assistant — to a deserted gold refinery, built into the side of a mountain in Eureka, Utah. The gang had to hike up steep terrain to reach graffiti-adorned structures, and they spent the day climbing on “rocks, boulders, anything” in luxury outerwear, “a good test for the clothing,” as Mangan put it. “I tried to show an urban environment surrounded by wilderness. There’s this vast, green, lush landscape with a lake below and then, above, the old processing vats.”
The 39-year-old-Mangan has been only been shooting for publication since 2010, and doesn’t want to discuss his professional life pre-photography. “I left my job — my real job, so to speak,” he says, “to do a series of art projects. The camera became a tool to document the ideas I had in my head. And so, I took all of my savings — everything — and I didn’t know what was going to happen.” He sent his first series, Winter’s Children, to Vice, which was published in the magazine’s June 2010 issue. As editor-in-chief Rocco Castoro put it, “We were very impressed that Jim convinced a bunch of his friends to drop trou and slide down craggy rocks with their genitals flopping about in the cold, but we were floored once we learned that it was one of his first serious stabs at taking photos for publication.” He’s since gone on to do two more Vice covers. Click on to see the work and hear more about the shoot. As Mangan says, “It’s very simple: You use the environment, you use what’s there in a very organic way. And you enjoy it.”
Fashion market editing by Michelle Reneau.
"Everybody carried clothing up and down the mountain — we brought backpacks. I had a tarp that we set all of the clothes on, and each time s...
"Everybody carried clothing up and down the mountain — we brought backpacks. I had a tarp that we set all of the clothes on, and each time somebody took something on or off, they had to put it back on the tarp."
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Prada jacket, $45,000, and pants, $14,800, both available at prada.com. Kenzo creepers, $320, available at Opening Ceremony: 35 Howard St. (212.219.2688).
"That's Casie. She was messing around — she laid the coat out on the concrete and started doing a headstand ... just getting loose with it. ...
"That's Casie. She was messing around — she laid the coat out on the concrete and started doing a headstand ... just getting loose with it. I like when people get lost in the moment, and that's what she was doing."
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Y-3 socks, $75, available at Y-3.com. Julien David dress, approximately $863, available at juliendavid.com. Michael Kors coat, $3995, available at michaelkors.com.
"Ricky [left] is totally carefree and very open-minded. He wouldn't think twice about putting on women's clothing and prancing around in it."...
"Ricky [left] is totally carefree and very open-minded. He wouldn't think twice about putting on women's clothing and prancing around in it."
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Marc by Marc Jacobs dress, $378, available at shopbop.com. Model's own shoes. Moncler Gamme Rouge boots, price upon request, available at moncler.com.
"They're tripping on acid — just kidding. This [setup] seemed to work. There were four structures, and it was a way to sort of showcase multiple ...
"They're tripping on acid — just kidding. This [setup] seemed to work. There were four structures, and it was a way to sort of showcase multiple pieces at one time."
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From left to right: Marc by Marc Jacobs dress, $378, available at shopbop.com. Model's own shoes. Julien David cardigan, approximately $742, available at juliendavid.com. Moncler Gamme Rouge boots, price upon request, available at moncler.com. Rag & Bone coat, $1,595, available at shopbop.com. Oscar de la Renta boots, $1,895, available at oscardelarenta.com. Prada jacket, $45,000, and pants, $14,800, both available at prada.com. Kenzo creepers, $320, available at Opening Ceremony: 35 Howard St. (212.219.2688).
"The wind picked up at that particular moment, and I stopped to shoot the architecture of the cape."
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Gucci cashmere cape,&n...
"The wind picked up at that particular moment, and I stopped to shoot the architecture of the cape."
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Gucci cashmere cape, $4900, available at gucci.com. Peter Pilotto skirt, $1170, available at Bergdorf Goodman: 5th Avenue at 58th Street, (212.753.7300). Rag & Bone boots, $755, available at rag-bone.com.
"She looks awkward ... the way the back foot is kicked up, and the front one — that's where she's stepping. It's not natural to hike in thos...
"She looks awkward ... the way the back foot is kicked up, and the front one — that's where she's stepping. It's not natural to hike in those shoes on that hillside."
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Rag & Bone coat, $995, available at rag-bone.com. Gucci pants, $1295, available at gucci.com. Marc Jacobs shoes, $1095, available at marcjacobs.com.
"The graffiti is really funny — it's amazing in the sense that it's so bad, it makes it good."
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Burberry Prorsum coat, ...
"The graffiti is really funny — it's amazing in the sense that it's so bad, it makes it good."
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Burberry Prorsum coat, $2,595, burberry.com. Prada Spazzolato leather shoes, price upon request, prada.com.
"This is probably the most 'posed' shot. Not everything is natural, but as much as possible, I try to make it that way."
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Ma...
"This is probably the most 'posed' shot. Not everything is natural, but as much as possible, I try to make it that way."
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Marc Jacobs coat, $7600, and skirt, $995, available at marcjacobs.com.
"These are abandoned gold processing vats built on this mountainside ... I don't know how old they are — I'm guessing anywhere from 80 to 10...
"These are abandoned gold processing vats built on this mountainside ... I don't know how old they are — I'm guessing anywhere from 80 to 100 years old — so you have these contrasting environments overlapping one another. You have a beautiful mountainside, you have these gold processing vats that were highly toxic and devastating to that particular area, and then you have the artwork that's been painted on the side of them."
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Model in foreground: Marc Jacobs coat, $7600, and skirt, $995, available at marcjacobs.com. Model in background: Creatures of the Wind coat, $2,700, available at Ikram, Chicago (312.587.1000). Julien David hat, $255, available at juliendavid.com.
"Spencer is in tune with the outdoors ... he's very conscientious of the environment and his surroundings. He's a unique person, he’s athletic, h...
"Spencer is in tune with the outdoors ... he's very conscientious of the environment and his surroundings. He's a unique person, he’s athletic, he's a good-looking guy, and he brings a lot to the table."
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Michael Kors pants, $2995, available at michaelkors.com.
Moncler Gamme Rouge coat, price upon request, available at moncler.com. Michael Kors pants, $2995, available at michaelkors.com. Rag & Bone boots,...
Moncler Gamme Rouge coat, price upon request, available at moncler.com. Michael Kors pants, $2995, available at michaelkors.com. Rag & Bone boots, $395, available at barneys.com.
"I left the beauty stuff up to them, but I advised not to use too much makeup."
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Chanel wool tweed vest, $4,365; jacket, $14...
"I left the beauty stuff up to them, but I advised not to use too much makeup."
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Chanel wool tweed vest, $4,365; jacket, $14,645; shoes, $1,995; all available at Chanel (800.550.0005).
Alexander Wang coat, $1,350, available at alexanderwang.com. Rag & Bone boots, $395, available at barneys.com.
"That's my hand that he's touching. We were saying 'What's up?' to each other, and I lifted the camera and took the photo ... you can see the ins...
"That's my hand that he's touching. We were saying 'What's up?' to each other, and I lifted the camera and took the photo ... you can see the inside of the hood, you can see the visor. I think this picture really shows the material of the coat."
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Alexander Wang coat, $1,350, available at alexanderwang.com.
"I use a lot of different cameras. I have a Leica R3 that I have — an old Leica R3 — I have a Canon F1, a Contax G2. I have the Contax ...
"I use a lot of different cameras. I have a Leica R3 that I have — an old Leica R3 — I have a Canon F1, a Contax G2. I have the Contax T3. I have a Yashica T4 ... sometimes I'm carrying two cameras at the same time, but I'll have my photo assistant, who will pass off one camera to me, and he'll be holding all the other cameras. I can just grab whatever I need from him."
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Julien David parka, approximately $1363, available at juliendavid.com. J.Crew skirt, $475, available at jcrew.com.
J.Crew skirt, $475, available at jcrew.com. Mulberry dress, $4,200, available at mulberry.com. Oscar de la Renta boots, $1,895, available at oscardela...
J.Crew skirt, $475, available at jcrew.com. Mulberry dress, $4,200, available at mulberry.com. Oscar de la Renta boots, $1,895, available at oscardelarenta.com.
"I look for people who can act naturally in my shots ... sometimes I'll take one shot of somebody posing, and make it seem like I'm bringing down...
"I look for people who can act naturally in my shots ... sometimes I'll take one shot of somebody posing, and make it seem like I'm bringing down the camera. Then, the minute they relax, I take another shot to get that natural look."
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Rag & Bone pants, $495, available at rag-bone.com. Chanel shoes, $1,995, available at Chanel (800.550.0005).
"I didn't feel intimidated by the clothes. I felt like it was a new challenge and I didn't want it to look or feel entirely like a fashion shoot....
"I didn't feel intimidated by the clothes. I felt like it was a new challenge and I didn't want it to look or feel entirely like a fashion shoot. I wanted it to feel like ... an experience, an adventure, an exploration. And I always feel, with anything that I do, the pressure to do a good job. That's something that I thrive on."
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Chanel shoes, $1,995, available at Chanel (800.550.0005).
"There are some other ledges that are out of the frame, but she definitely had to scale up the side of that wall and be able to balance. And it's...
"There are some other ledges that are out of the frame, but she definitely had to scale up the side of that wall and be able to balance. And it's a big drop — if she fell off either side, she would be in bad shape."
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Marni coat, $4570, available at Marni: 21 East 67th Street (212.257.6907).
"Yes, she's barefoot."
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Marni coat, $4570, available at Marni: 21 East 67th Street (212.257.6907).
"Usually, my projects with nudity represent a rebirth ... I think if anybody feels uncomfortable about being nude in front of the camera, they’re...
"Usually, my projects with nudity represent a rebirth ... I think if anybody feels uncomfortable about being nude in front of the camera, they’re not going to do it, and I'm not going to ask them to do it. Everybody who was nude during the shoot was 100 percent comfortable doing it. There were no inhibitions."
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Julien David scarf, approximately $331, available at juliendavid.com. Rag & Bone boots, $395.00, available at barneys.com.
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