Sometimes the biggest impact comes from the smallest gestures. Jason Schneidman is a hairstylist and groomer that’s worked with Joe Pugliese on set for their jobs, but they recently collaborated on project that goes beyond the glitz of an editorial set. In his free time, Schneidman offers his time to cut the hair of homeless folk in Los Angeles, and after hearing about this ongoing service, Joe asked if he could document the process and people that Schneidman reaches out to. “It was important fo me to honor it in a very matter of fact way without building up the heavy sympathy approach that we see a lot,” Joe explains. “I just thought that this was a nice way into a singular thing that one person does that doesn’t necessarily change their lives but it might change their day… Do what you can with what you have and incrementally make somebody’s day better whether or not you change the world or change someone’s life is nearly here nor there.” The series offers a look at Schneidman’s process and the effect that a haircut can have. Like Joe says, the minutes in that chair and the human attention that Schneidman gives will not change the trajectory of their lives, but it does offer a human moment and the opportunity to feel good about themselves and the world they're living in. “I wanted to illustrate the transformative property of a simple haircut and I didn’t want to do it so much for the haircut but with their expressions,” Joe says. “I used a long lens to stay out of the action, and I was a sort of fly out of the way so they didn’t feel like there was a photoshoot. it was important to him that it not be a complicated set up. This wasn’t about photography.” Joe’s distance allowed for even more authentic moments so the transformation is ever clearer and deeper. Often, the photographs are less about the haircut and more about the connection between two people. Living on the streets can be isolating and stressful, but Schneidman gives his clients the opportunity to sit and connect with another person in a context that has no expectation or ulterior motive. “It looks like they’re happy to just be gently handled. They’re happy to have somebody who’s really caring for them in a way that is respectful,” Joe says. “There’s a level of trust that I think we all relate to even when we’re sitting in a barber’s chair… His interaction with them taught me a lot about how I interact with my subjects. And I saw a lot of the same trust building steps that he takes with his subjects that I tried to take with my photographic subjects.” As we approach a season of giving, Joe and Schneidman remind us that sometimes the best gift you can give is your time and attention.

To hear it told, Northern Japan has some of the best skiing conditions in the world. The idea of ski resorts calls up images of the Alps and Colorado, but there are pockets on Honshu, Japan’s largest island, where the mountains give way to thrilling slopes. Conde Nast Traveler invited Paola + Murray to venture to these more remote places to bring back a taste of what they found there. What they found was a little bit different from what they expected. “[Adam Graham] had been there two weeks before and the conditions were absolutely perfect. Lots of deep snow and blue skies, and pretty much as soon as we landed it started raining. And it rained, kind of the whole time,” says Murray Hall, who makes up half of Paola + Murray with his wife Paola Ambrosi De Magistris. Even though it rained the whole time they were exploring the area, they were still able to use their skills to show off what it was the writer saw and deliver a story that’s as full of snow as we could hope. The story in Conde Nast Traveler is about more than the slopes and the wintery conditions – it’s also about everything that surrounds the literal skiing experience. And when Paola + Murray couldn’t capture three feet of perfect powder, they were still able to deliver the full picture. That’s because they looked beyond the expected. “It comes down to those areas around ski resorts; they kind of just have that vibe,” explains Murray. Whether it’s a steaming bath at a hot spring onsen, or a hearty meal of soba, the experience extends far beyond the trails and deeper than the rain sodden snow outside. “In all our photography, our main objective is to keep things as real as possible and keep it really authentic and real,” says Murray. “Japan is one of those places that is super authentic, so it’s not very difficult to make it look real.”

When an artist approaches a creative process with authenticity, every project presents an opportunity to grow and learn. For Kyle Bean, much of what he creates is rather broad. He’s generally brought on to solve large creative problems in a visual process, but every now and then he has a collaboration that has more defined boundaries. His latest, with Kiehl’s was one of those jobs and it opened up new doors, even within its constraints.  “What I found quite appealing about this job was that what I was tasked with almost creating something between an architectural model and an illustrative representation of a Kiehl’s store,” explains Kyle. “Normally, I don’t normally have that much of a brief when I’m given a job to make one of my artworks, so it was a bit more specific in that they wanted there to be lots of references to what you find inside a typical Kiehl’s store like their flagship store in New York.” Those details included the pear tree that sits outside the Kiehl’s store on Manhattan’s East Village location on 3rd Avenue, a Mr Bones skeleton, a motorbike, the little compartmentalized drawers where the product sits. But above all else, literally, the entire store was set in the shape of Chinese retailer TMall’s logo. The project was created to celebrate Singles Day, a holiday in China that celebrates folks who are romantically unattached. Every one of these confinements was an opportunity. The biggest change for Kyle was all the people. The store he created with photographer Mitch Payne is chock full of customers, and so Kyle had to create them. “My work doesn’t really contain people usually, so that was definitely a new challenge for me,” explains Kyle. “What we arrived at was this combination of papercraft and simple painted shapes so they look like stylized characters.” “Every job I learn something new, even if it’s something simple. On this job I was using a bit of a mix of materials in a way that I wouldn’t always use or combine in some of my other work,” Kyle says. “With the motorbike I used a weird combination of oven drying and some painted wooden dowels. What I found quite liberating with this job is I could kind of just find materials that I felt could work for different parts of the model and not feel constrained.” Every limitation offers an opportunity for expansion, and with this project for Kiehl’s, Kyle was able to use every square inch to broaden his process.  

In the latest collaboration between Illustrator Dan Craig and UGG, time is an illusion. In a subversion of the myths we’ve told ourselves, Dan has created a series of classically styled paintings that reflect stories from times of old. Each one is massive and a take on images you already know: Simon Vouet’s Venus, François Boucher’s Hercules & Omphale and Alexandre Cabanel’s Apollo. Of course, they’re all a little different, but that’s the point. They’re all remixes on a classic. This latest campaign celebrates the collaboration between UGG and Y/Project, a series of new styles that remix the classic UGG look, so it stands to reason that the new styles would be breaking through the past and into the present. Each of Dan’s illustrations are painted life-size and feature cutouts so that live models pop in and out of them, showing of their very human faces and the UGG styles featured in each image. Whether they’re a heeled version of a boot, or a men’s style that’s three-tiered or a take on a flip-flop, these are styles we’ve never seen before with DNA that runs back to the very beginning of the brand and their most iconic styles. It’s a blend of new and old that makes this campaign created with Plus Agency burst through to the future, with each image offering a tension that demands the audience gives a second look.

Willem Dafoe has made a reputation for himself as being one of the most engaging and agile actors of his generation. In the latest cover story for Esquire featuring Dafoe and photographed by Marc Hom, the magazine makes clear the breadth of roles he’s taken on. Everything from a death god to players on both sides of the Holocaust, to the Green Goblin and Vulko. Now: he’s playing Vincent Van Gogh. What makes this range so profound is that Dafoe has an unmistakable look, he’s able to reshape his energies and body language to inhabit these roles. For this cover story, it was up to Marc to ensure that we see the range even when he’s dressed up in the latest fashions with nothing between him and audience but Marc’s discerning eye and flair for composition. In only eight images we see a multifaceted man, the same man that’s revealed through the companion interview. And he’s never out of place in the fashions he wears: Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dries Van Noten, Ferragamo, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Hermès. It’s all the names that make the most fashion savvy weak in the knees, but on Dafoe they’re perfectly at home, and pieces that he’s able to use as tools in his arsenal. See one photo where he’s balancing on a table, slicing an apple, a vision of an effortless leading man. In the next image, he’s a total creep in an oversized jacket. Then a blissed-out meditator in a full wool suit. Marc’s ability to capture each moment from the actor proves not only Dafoe’s versatility but Marc’s instinct to reveal to us all he sees and invite us into every moment.

TEVA is undergoing a transformation. What used to be an outdoor sandal brand is now expanding into new markets thanks to the explosive and exploratory nature of today’s fashion community. This season the brand is underscoring the shift with a campaign shot by Taylor Rainbolt in collaboration with Chloe x Halle, the R&B duo blessed by Beyoncé’s mentorship. The resulting campaign combines the two artist’s unique style sensibilities with the cultural heritage of TEVA. “We wanted to keep it raw so that we felt like it wasn’t too high-end where it wasn’t accessible to people. Giving it that rawness from nature. TEVA can be for anybody, so we decided to show the actual scene and give it that,” explained Taylor. “They’ve noticed their products showing up a lot in New York Fashion Week, so they came out with a line that you could wear every day, not just to the beach or hiking, or just camping.” The shoot features Chloe x Halle lounging in styles that they chose on a set that gives away its own secrets: you see C-stands, sandbags, and clips holding up pieces of flora or the draped seamless. Everything was brought together to play with the tension inherent in the pieces that bring together the final look. “We used plants to cast shadows onto the wall, to keep both together. Keep fashion and nature together. And then if we didn’t cast a shadow we put plants in the scene to give it that natural vibe. It’s cool vibes, it’s so versatile you can wear it with an outfit or go camping,” Taylor explains. “And then we played with the color because I feel like it really gives it that pop.” Chloe x Halle are set in this specially created world to bridge the gap, but it’s not just the aesthetic that got it to work. It was also the energy that Taylor was able to create with Chloe x Halle on set. “They came to set right away giving everyone hugs and were super excited about it and we created the dynamic where we know everyone’s excited. They were great at collaborating and it was just really amazing,” Taylor says. “It’s cool that it was bringing young women working together; just collaborating with younger women.” The collaboration between all three women created a dynamic set of imagery that wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else.