Spotlight

06.08.24

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to chat with photographer and creative Akash Tucker. In our discussion he shared many anecdotes about the impacts of his childhood and early life on where he is now. Recently Akash released a photo book titled “Butterflies and Hooligan Sh*t. In it he documents his journey throughout the past few years with a variety of images made to capture his emotions at crucial moments in his life. In this feature we discuss his latest project and more.

BS: I’m Ben Stone, I’m a designer based out of London, studying Womenswear at London College of Fashion. Recently I started presenting my work through the creative label ‘MUTINY’, debuting my first collection last month titled ‘BANDIT’. If I’m not making clothes, I’m working 5 different jobs to afford a £7 pint down the pub.

BS: I don’t come from a fashion background, my parents run a landscaping business in the countryside which is completely detached to the industry I’ve found myself in. Like most teens I found myself putting effort into the way I dressed. I always wanted to wear nice clothes but didn’t have enough money to buy anything. So instead I made my own. I stole my mum's sewing machine and ripped down a pair of curtains when she wasn’t looking and started sewing. Dissatisfied studying engineering up North I took a leap of faith and applied to fashion school.

BS: At first, I found it so frustrating hahaha. They have certain methodologies that they try to instil in you, and it felt like I was fighting against the course. I mean, that’s why I started MUTINY. I’ve felt like my creative drive was being drained and contorted to fit the industry standards. So I needed a creative outlet separate to LCF to maintain this passion.

To give it credit, LCF has helped with the intricacies of womenswear; darts, busts, linings, pattern drafting, all skills that I came to LCF without knowing. I’m coming to the end of my first year now and I’ve stopped fighting against the course. I’ve realised that I need to be open to learning and stop being so stubborn because it’ll get me nowhere.

BS: As bleak as it sounds my best inspiration is the fragile state of the nation I live in. The UK is a nation suffering at the hands of politicians who play with policies like toys, blind to the immense social and economic effects on the working-class individual. I want to present social commentaries in a satirical sense, nuancing activism to show we have no pride left. ‘If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’ as they say.

I don’t see enough British designers exposing the gritty, raw reality of this country, instead creating their own romanticisation.On a side note, history always intrigues me. Think it stemmed from watching ‘Horrible Histories’ (a British kids programme) when I was younger.

AT: Step 1: Have good ideas. Step 2: test the market and see if they give a shit. Step 3: if they give a shit, study what goes into making a successful product in the niche you're looking at. Step 4: have the courage to actually make the product.

I say it like this because it really is the simplest breakdown of my process and how I made my book. Back in 2021, I did the same thing with Lightroom presets. I made a preset, posted a video on TikTok, got like 2 million views, and realized the market gave a shit. So I went and made more presets and taught people how to make them and then also gave them the opportunity to purchase them from my site if they didn't want to make the presets themselves. I think I had like 10-15 viral videos in 2021 and all of them were getting me sales on these presets. However, all of that stuff is irrelevant if you can’t commit to actually making the product. Ideas are cheap, executing those ideas is really hard and it takes a lot of time, energy, and discipline. If you don't have those traits, then your product is going to fail. Someone else who has those traits will come across the same idea and then actually go and execute it and you'll be left as one of those people that says “I could've done that too you know?”

AT: My two favorite photographers without a doubt are Dudi Hasson and Daniel Arnold. Dudi has such an interesting perspective with the way he creates a juxtaposition with intimacy and alienation. I bought his book called “As Far As Close” and it's probably my favorite book that I own. Daniel Arnold feels like my generation’s Bruce Gilden, I relate to his fast-paced run-&-gun style shooting, it’s probably one of my favorite ways to shoot, you know? You just see something out the corner of your eye and quickly blast the flash off of your camera and move on, you have maybe 1-2 seconds to see a moment and capture it, and then it's gone forever. I like the narrative of that. Daniel Arnold’s photographs are really gripping, and if you haven't seen him or Dudi, you should go look them up.

AT: If your goal is to be seen as an original creative: be really f**king honest, to the point where you are unapologetic to a fault about who you are. Some people will love that about you, and some people will hate that about you… but you’re not here to please everybody and make everybody like you, so you might as well attract the people that really f**k with you and leave the rest alone. When you get honest, with yourself and everyone else, it becomes really clear what kind of person you are… and understanding exactly what kind of person you are is step one in understanding what kind of artist you are, arguably the most important step.