CARLOS NAZARIO
Carlos Nazario set his sights on a career as a stylist when he was still in high school. Seeing the transformative power of fashion in New York while growing up, he became fascinated by how it can be utilised to change, enhance and communicate one’s personality. After 10 years working at various international magazines and assisting a number of renowned editors, he became an independent stylist three years ago. Now fashion director of Fantastic Man and senior fashion editor of i-D magazine, Nazario also works with numerous other publications and brands including Matthew Adams Dolan, Hood by Air and Roberto Cavalli.
With diverse casting, mixed cultural references, and both streetwear and tailored looks equally saturated with attitude, Nazario is reshaping what fashion can do and what elegance can be. “Elegance is an optimistic depiction of yourself, presenting yourself in the best way possible, whatever that means to you. Elegance is a mood, it is poise, the way you hold yourself, the books that you read, the food that you eat – it comes from within,” says Nazario.
For L’Uomo Vogue Nazario and photographer Oliver Hadlee Pearch have created a story that is not just a fashion statement, but also a comment on what is going on in the world. Photographing a group of young Mexican men from East Los Angeles in oversized suit jackets and full trousers nipped in at the ankle, the story references the Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles in 1943. “I was blown away by the way the Mexican men took power into their own hands by unifying through clothing. These riots in the 1940’s also feel applicable to what is going on now in the United States and across the world,” Nazario comments. As the prominence of fashion continues to increase in popular culture and in mainstream media in general, the stylist has the chance to take on a more important role as a kind of image maker and opinion leader, who can shape what the world looks like. Nazario stresses, “if a picture is powerful enough it can start conversations that need to be had, illustrate issues that already exist and hopefully help move us in the right direction.”