_editorial: watashiato

Published in Kaltblut Magazine, 2023

What traces do we leave on the world? 
And what traces does the world leave on us? 

Starting from a simple desire to shoot with sustainable Berlin-based fashion designers, this photo series opened into an exploration of Watashiato: the curiosity about one’s seen and unseen impact on the world.

I have been obsessed with exploring my own footprint – environmentally as well as creatively – for many years. This obsession poses many questions.

What little actions of mine have led to unforeseen consequences? 
Which of my images might have affected someone long after I took them? 
And what small happenings have changed me in ways I could never imagine?

All the elements of this photo session seem to have coalesced around the core theme of Watashiato: from working within an abandoned office building (traces of days gone by) and styling with sustainable fashion (thus minimizing the traces we leave) to shooting with an analog camera (thereby creating an actual chemical trace of the model on film). 

While we may never know for sure what traces we leave on the world, this series poses as an invitation to sit with these questions.

Photography and Styling: Sarah Fuchs
Photo assistant: Simon Brommene / Instagram: @agebloue
Model: Kyungseok Kim / Instagram: @keeymksig
Agency: Let It Go Management / Instagram: @letitgomgmt

Fashion Brands used are:  A New Kind of Blue, Don Aretino, Damur, Kulson
Instagram name of each band: @anewkindof_blue @don_aretino @damurfashion @kulsonstudios