Tommy TonPhotographer, Jak & Jil Founder

"I’d rather be more known for the work I do than for what I’m wearing. I don’t feel like I should be photographed. Why should anybody care about what I’m wearing?"

“I think men are more fixated on style than fashion and to obtain style you have to build your wardrobe. If anything, Tumblr has made the situation even worse; Now men’s fashion has become more influential with the digital age. I feel that I’m still learning, but my habit of obtaining too many things got a little bit out of control last year. I actually spent the average person’s salary on clothes, which is kind of frightening. I have not regretted anything, but it got to the point where I couldn’t go a day without ordering something online. My favorite online sites are Rakuten, Ebay, Le Collection His. If I didn’t buy anything, I was like, ‘I have to buy something,’ whether it was $70 or $700. I couldn’t fall asleep one night after the shows, so I was scrounging online to find something to calm myself down. I bought a jacket, which cost me $2,900 including customs and duties, and I was like, ‘now I can calm down,’ and that was at seven in the morning! Then I fell asleep.

I like to shop so much that I shop vicariously through other people, such as pretending that I’m someone like Vanessa Traina. I actually have an archive because I buy old Balenciaga, not like old, old Balenciaga, but I’m talking about early 2000s Balenciaga. It’s mostly women’s. Helmut Lang and Balenciaga. The archive will serve as a reference if I ever design a collection. The clothes that I want to design will be very reflective of what I’ve liked for quite a long time or what I think is missing. I definitely feel that another five years [from now] is probably when I would do a collection. I need to make more friends with certain models, so when the time comes I can be like, ‘Anja!’” – Tommy Ton to Shop Ghost

Tommy Ton photographed in Chinatown by Stevie Dance.

Tommy’s Tips on What Street Style is Missing

Old Stuff

“I’d like to see people wear more stuff of seasons past. I think that’s the problem. Everyone’s trying to buy that shoe or that bag and wear it before it’s overly photographed."
Elegance

"I would like to see more women wearing suits because I find that to be actually really chic. That’s why I really like Anastasia Barbieri. It’s just very easy. It’s almost the same idea as when a man wears a suit; you know that certain elegance and posture that you have to have when wearing a suit? Suits would be great."
Different Designers

"I actually would like to see more women step out of their comfort zone and wear trickier brands. I like girls that are able to find really great stuff that you would never expect."
Eyesight

"I'd like to see more girls wearing glasses—like their actual reading glasses. I mean, I think that’s more interesting than you know, 'Oh okay I can’t leave with my glasses in. I have to put my contact lenses in now."
Family!

"I’d like to see more women take children out. Because it’s always interesting to see the way that someone dresses their child, and its very reflective of who they are.”