In Conversation with Mr Aaron Christian

The Rakish Gent talks to The Asian Man about why championing diversity matters

As the Editor of The Rakish Gent, as well as a man with South Asian heritage it has always been important to me that my magazine, both online and in print would be an advocate for those of colour. As time passed, this became easier as model agencies became much better at offering more diverse models (our SS22 print Issue 3 cover with the handsome Raj Dhaliwal at PRM photographed in Savile Row tailoring and with a Ferrari felt like an important marker for me). It struck me, that I had a harder time in finding South Asian men behind the camera, as creatives, image-makers and those that can influence and produce the work that we all see. Aaron Christian was one man in a fairly small group.

The award-winning writer, director and producer is the son of Malaysian-Indian immigrants, raised in London and who expertly combines fashion and digital content via film. The founder of the successful and influential men’s style blog Individualism, he helmed the film department of MR PORTER in those early years and in 2014 founded AC Studios, a film studio that has worked with clients including Adidas, Aston Martin and Armani. His unique and nuanced work focuses on the connection between culture, fashion and the design world which attempts to celebrate the stories of those that are not typically heard. He is also the founder of the scroll-worthy Instagram account The Asian Man, which celebrates South Asian men and will soon be available as a coffee table photography book.

Why film as a medium of storytelling?

From a young age I was always interested in images first and foremost and film came to me when I was picking subjects to study at University. I actually chose photography to study at Westminster, and couldn’t get in. As I studied Film Studies I realised that it was a really rich medium in which I could work with many creatives in many different ways. Just as an example, that includes film, sound design, costume, movement, lighting, dance and more. I also felt like it was a medium that you can only get good at as you get older, which I found really suited me.

How do you approach a new piece of work? What is the process?

I think for me, the process differs between personal and commercial projects.

On commercial projects, I think the first stage is working with a brand that has a similar taste or aesthetic and then there is a conversation between what they want from the core concept and then I consider whether there is something that I can bring from my background, or something that I have seen culturally that can bring something that could give it an interesting spin. Of these, the work that I did with Church’s is something that I am really proud of.

With personal projects, I’m interested in working on things where I feel that I’m uniquely positioned to tell the story well or whether I can bring an idea that hasn’t been presented in the way I want it to be. This sounds easy in theory, but it can take a long time and quite often involves coming back to an idea after some time has passed. I’ve learnt that time away from something, and being able to let an idea simmer has led me to make better decisions as to whether an idea is right or wrong.

Aaron Christian photographed by Jonangelo Molinari exclusively for *The Rakish Gent* Issue 4

Your website says that you saw a lack of diversity in 2018, which led to founding AC Studios. Do you think things have changed?

I can only speak specifically to film and fashion, but in short; yes. I think there is still a great deal of work to be done to increase diversity behind the camera. In terms of casting, commercials, modelling big steps have been taken. For me, diversity behind the camera is even more important because it informs why and how certain stories are told and who is telling them. Nuanced stories only come from a person’s own unique experience. I worry sometimes that we can be extracting from people of culture rather than uplifting them and telling their own stories. Storytelling that is deep and intelligent will always be so much more impactful.

Were luxury fashion brands immediately perceptive to your work with AC Studios?

I think, working at MR PORTER really did help navigate those conversations in the early days. I’m totally aware of the fact that there was some leverage which got me into rooms that others may not have been to get into. I’d also like to think that the quality of the work shone through. I’ve been very lucky to have worked and had a career that led to more opportunities. I’ve definitely worked really hard but timing and luck have also played a part.

Your website says that you saw a lack of diversity in 2018, which led to founding AC Studios. Do you think things have changed?

Were luxury fashion brands immediately perceptive to your work with AC Studios?

Conversely, have you found that there are sectors that are not open to collaborative ways to create content?

I haven’t worked in this area, but I’ve always been a really keen hobbyist of perfumery and beauty. As a consumer and a creative, I just don’t see enough representation in that space at all. I can’t recall ever seeing a South Asian person ever fronting a big fragrance campaign for example. I find it interesting, especially as so many of the ingredients used are global so I feel its rather a missed opportunity.

You founded Individualism and AC Studios. How important is it for you to be able to control the narrative of the work that you are producing?

Super important. Like so many people, during the pandemic lockdown I spent so much of that time thinking about the work I was doing, what it meant to me. What I landed on was doing work that had an impact and shined a light on under-representation, be that places or people and to do that via the medium of visual storytelling. I think I would struggle to do work that I didn’t have some attachment to. It brings me real joy to work on projects that I care about and that I can devote time and effort to bringing to life.

Would you say that there is a common thread that connects your work and makes it immediately recognisable as yours?

I think it took some time to understand what that was and how it would look, but I think it's there. It’s a really interesting question and one that I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently as I have been working on some ideas for TV documentary style projects. In doing that I’ve realised that a lot of my work has been influenced by early nature documentaries. I’m a massive fan of David Attenborough and as a youngster, I remember me and my Dad recording nature documentaries on the BBC and watching them together on the VCR. The cinematography of those is so beautiful and minimalistic. For me the goal is to make a single frame as strong as it possibly can be.

Looking back, are there any specific projects that hold a special place in your heart or that you are particularly proud of?

The work that I did with Church’s is probably a good example of a project that I’m really proud of. Typically brands that have a heritage, craft angle are ones that I have worked with most in the past. What made the visual work unique was that it showed off those things but in a new way, working with the hand ballet elements, a poet and movement director, it felt like a new way of doing things.

I also started a podcast, What Is This Behaviour which began when I started to really think about myself as a South Asian person, what it means to be a South Asian man. Historically I had always felt like the only person like me in the room at the time, knowing that there had to be others around. It wasn’t a natural space for me either so it was interesting to challenge myself and do something new. The theme is South Asians going against the grain, and it has led to some amazing networks and friends, as well as being a non-creepy way for me to get to speak to people that I really admired! In two and a half years we’ve done 78 episodes and it’s a really rewarding project to be involved in.

Aside from that, everything that I’m proud of everything that I have done with The Asian Man.

How did The Asian Man start?

The original driver must have been working for MR PORTER. I would go out and work to create the fashion week content twice annually. I saw that there were mostly editors and buyers around before there were any fashion influencers. It started to become really obvious to me that on the catwalk there were no brown people and there was a real lack of representation amongst the attendees too. From that, I started a Tumblr which would feature the people that I would see regularly, whether in London or at Pitti. It was really hard to find content to post and it felt like an Easter egg hunt. I moved it over to Instagram, and in the last two years, post Black Lives Matter things started to change. There were a number of young South Asians who were unapologetic about who they are. Digital and social space became more prominent too. It’s become much easier to maintain now.

Do you think that the rise of social media influencers have helped or hindered its success?

Yeah I do. It took a while to grow and sometimes I feel it could be bigger. For me, it’s a legacy project. When I was growing up, my experience of South Asian culture was that often it was that culture itself that reacted more when I tried to embrace it. I felt kind of excluded from my own culture and now, it’s something that is a real source of pride for me and I feel like I can own it.

How did the Instagram of The Asian Man evolve into launching a book?

I felt like there wasn’t any coffee table photo fashion book that had images of South Asian men so it started from there. I wanted something that I could put on my own coffee table. The social media page is really international and there were great cities like Toronto, New York, Paris, Mumbai where I would have loved to be able to work with local photographers to get unique and fresh imagery. There were so many difficulties in doing that, and I realised that actually it was the access and the connections that were more important. I started to shoot myself, working with people that I was comfortable with and it’s been going well so far. The shoots are chilled and joyful. We are eleven shoots in, with six more planned for the second half of the year.

Do you think there is more to be done to create a more diverse and inclusive industry, and if so what?

Totally there is more to be done and we are only at the tip of the iceberg right now. I think long term and permanent change will only happen when those at the higher levels of brands/ businesses are either people of colour or advocates of people of colour and champions of diversity. Until that happens, it’ll take longer and be a much slower process. With AC Studios, I love to work with young and talented people and I hope that they find it refreshing that they don’t have to go through all the barriers that come from trying to explain why it's important to tell a particular story. I’m still facing those barriers myself, mostly due to the fact that there aren’t those champions in front of me.

@aaronchristian_

@acstudios_

@theasianman_

A full version of this feature can be found in The Rakish Gent Issue 4.

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