Fashion photographer and casting director Kevin Amato is best known for his ongoing partnership with Hood by Air — he has shot campaigns for and cast every HBA show since the label’s debut. A collaborative loungewear-and-bedding collection funded his first photo book.
Amato’s network has expanded throughout New York over the past five years — most notably in the Bronx, where he scouts models on the street or on social media, then promotes them on Instagram. After creating his own agency, MOTHERMGMT, he more recently finished a six-year project with VFiles founder Julie Anne Quay. They created the new youth-culture magazine WOMB for the same kids Amato photographs.
Which brings us to a gallery of photos from his new book The Importants, out September 5 from Phaidon. The “importants” are Amato’s subjects: young models he has met on the street and cast for fashion shows, plus portraits of celebrities like Chris Brown and Travis Scott (Amato shot Scott’s Rodeo album cover last year).
Click ahead to preview the book (and see Travis Scott’s grills).
Los Angeles.
Haley.
Gato.
Bus Stop.
Travis Grill.
Shopping Cart.
Destiny.
FDR Overpass.
The Importants will be available from Phaidon on September 5.