STUTTERHEIM Shot by: Matt Vega
Matt Vega is a photographer and director based in New York – and a New Yorker through and through. With a mother from Brooklyn and a father from the Bronx, Matt had most boroughs covered at an early age. He had an artistic upbringing with both parents being involved in New York's rock music scene in the 80s, and they influenced him to discover his own creativity and the city as a place to explore self-expression. He found photography in high school when he swapped his lunch period for a photography class. Offering a certain calmness and a break from the pressures of high school life, the dark room became a safe haven with its silence, the smell of the stop bath and the caring process that is developing film. At the same time, Matt devoured magazines like Dazed & Confused and Another, with editorials where “every face, pose, and garment seemed charged with narrative possibility.” This early exposure to the intersection of image and storytelling laid the foundation for Matt’s love of photography and film, which he rediscovered after a detour in the music industry and advertising. He picked up the camera again, desperate for a creative outlet that advertising couldn’t offer, and spent nights and weekends shooting musician friends and studio portraits, commissions which gradually evolved into video work and a career as a director.
“Looking back, it was this convergence of all these ideas: music, fashion, narrative and that early darkroom work, that inevitably led me here.”
Now based in London, the 26-year-old freelance photographer says what inspires him most is American 90s hip-hop culture. Not just the music, although he is a big fan, but the overall aesthetic – the balance between raw, rugged, casual style and high-quality branded gear. He cites Chi Modu and Mike Miller as role models for his photography style, to the soundtrack of Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Biggie Smalls and Missy Elliott, among others.
90s and early 2000’s cinema are major inspirations to Matt’s visual style, with films like Jonathan Glazer's Birth, Eyes Wide Shut, The Beach, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich, Gattaca and Pulp Fiction being the favourites as they all share “this dreamlike quality, this way of making the familiar feel strange.”
He’s also heavily influenced by the work of '90s photography masters – Steven Meisel's theatrical narratives, Robert Mapplethorpe's stark formalism, and Bruce Weber's mythic Americana in his iconic Abercrombie & Fitch campaigns. “They all transform reality into something more heightened and surreal.” Music photography remains a constant source of inspiration, too, along with deconstructing those glossy magazine ads that initially captured his imagination. “There's something about how all these influences blur the line between documentary and fantasy that really drives my approach.”
For this shoot, with our spring/summer ’25 collection captured in NYC, Matt was inspired by The Truman Show and how “simply existing in an urban environment today puts you in an instant and constant state of surveillance.” His visual style and influences come through in images that feel both modern and timeless, with a hint of 90s vintage. A regular day in the Big Apple, where every face, pose, and garment is charged with narrative possibility.
And what about rainy days? That’s when Robert Smith’s melancholic and atmospheric voice in Lovesong by The Cure floods Matt’s headphones as the CCTV cameras watch him hurry down the streets of New York City.
To see more of Matt’s work, head to https://mattvega.work/ or follow him on Instagram @tltshft
