We’ve been seeing it at New York Fashion Week, in more and more fashion related affairs, and now the new Versus autumn/winter campaign is championing inclusion across the planet.
For the campaign, which was dreamed up by Artistic Director Donatella Versace, eight young creative minds have banded together to capture the energy of subcultures, the groups of people that often have differing beliefs, behaviours or interests than the larger culture they belong to. And the artists have had a free a reign to express the unorthodox, audacity and self- confidence, a credo at the heart of Versus, the diffusion line of the Italian luxury fashion house Versace. Photographer Ben Toms captures each artist’s ingenuity and point of view, resulting in authentic and spontaneous shots that echo the Versus world through their eyes.
“I really admire the young creatives in the new Versus campaign. I call them the Sub-Versus Generation, a community of subcultures taking a stand for their beliefs and for their individuality,” Donatella Versace says.
The group of creatives mostly includes some musicians pushing boundaries and standing up for their principles, like Canadian underground rap artist Tommy Genesis and Tokyo-born musician and model Rina Sawayama. The other musicians are Irish hip hop artist Rejjie Snow, English singer-songwriter turned skater and graffiti artist Cosmo Pyke and Judah Lang, an American actor venturing into freestyle rap. There are also some artists involved in the fashion sphere like Lily McMenamy, an English model, and London-born artist and model Wilson Oryema. Hunter Schafer, an American artist, completes the stellar crew.
