Tommy Ton Slams Fellow Street Style Photographers: "Learn Some Manners and Get Over Yourself"

Now trending at fashion week: Drama.

Rather than the clothes, drama seems to be what’s trending this season at fashion week. First editors and bloggers were pegged against one another once esteemed bloggers Bryanboy and Susie Bubble responded to insulting criticism from Vogue.com. Now there seems to be a riff between street style photographers — Tommy Ton is fed up with his disrespectful peers.

On Instagram, the renowned photog shared a past Paris Fashion Week photo of Italian editor Giovanna Battaglia surrounded by Asian journalists carefully detailing her outfit:

“My reasoning for this post is because I’ve noticed time and time again how other photographers moan and groan about these women and sometimes yell at them questioning the purpose of their note taking. So here’s what I have to say to all of you who take issue with them and feel like you can bully them: show some respect, learn some manners and get over yourself. You have a problem with them asking what the editors, influencers, stylists and models are wearing? Guess what this is a billion dollar industry that cares about clothes and what these photographed men and women are wearing drives sales, not just your supposed perfectly composed photo. I am so fed up seeing these women get scoffed and yelled at. If you have a problem with them, then you can come talk to me and I will school you and put you into check.”

Ouch. Though Tommy acknowledges his own contribution to the “circus” that is the — sometimes rowdy — corral of cameras outside of venues, he laments “there’s no need to be disrespectful to each other.” After all, we’re all in this together, right?

So I have a bone to pick. I’m not going to name an any names or point the finger at anyone but you’ll know if I’m referring to you. You see these women taking notes of what Giovanna is wearing? These women precede all of what you see has become outside the fashion shows. They have been doing this for decades and helped turned street style at fashion week from a cult fascination to a global phenomenon. They are one of the main reasons why I was inspired to start taking photos and still to this day, I am inspired by their passion and tireless work ethic. Before social media and blogs came into the picture, asian fashion magazines were the only source where you could find endless pages of street style and all the credited details. Alongside Bill Cunningham, they helped put a spotlight on what people wore to fashion month. There used to be a huge group of asian photographers that worked peacefully together but nowadays, they are a dying breed taken over by an army of photographers. So my reasoning for this post is because I’ve noticed time and time again how other photographers moan and groan about these women and sometimes yell at them questioning the purpose of their note taking. So here’s what I have to say to all of you who take issue with them and feel like you can bully them: show some respect, learn some manners and get over yourself. You have a problem with them asking what the editors, influencers, stylists and models are wearing? Guess what this is a billion dollar industry that cares about clothes and what these photographed men and women are wearing drives sales, not just your supposed perfectly composed photo. I am so fed up seeing these women get scoffed and yelled at. If you have a problem with them, then you can come talk to me and I will school you and put you into check. And you know who else will come to their defense? All the men and women you like to take photos of who have no issue with these women. Do you know who they all have issues with? All of you who have aggressively flooded the shows and just run into everyone and block traffic. I take responsibility for my part in this circus, but there’s no need to be disrespectful to each other.
A photo posted by Tommy Ton (@tommyton) on Sep 26, 2016 at 1:25pm PDT