Under a towering Manhattan skyline, nine distinct voices unite to explore the depths of personal style. Through this exploration, they spark the question: in a world chasing authenticity, can style be our ultimate truth?
Niccolò Montanari: What led you to the creation of My Style Is… and why did you opt for a docu-style approach?
Matt Vega: The idea for this was something I’d been kicking around for a long time: I honestly had a pretty strong sense of what I wanted this to be. Spending most of my formative years in New York, I’ve always been casually fascinated by the intersection of the personal and sartorial choices we make. I like to go on walks and make these sorts of mental bookmarks about what people are wearing, which always leads me down a trail of questions. Why those pants? What is he/she trying to tell us? Barring the odd time I could engage them about it, I was always left coming up with my own answers. When you think about it, these facets of being human really ladder up to style, both in a metaphorical and literal sense. More often than not there’s an interesting story behind why people are the way they are, and what they choose to wear. Most of the time these stories are left unheard or unspoken, yet they’re palpably present when you encounter someone. I wanted to make a film that could let these stories shine in a way that felt relatable and accessible like you’re chatting with a friend. I think there’s a bit of a perception of NY fashion as being dark, unapproachable, or rigid, and I wanted to break that box a little bit. Because the truth is that it’s this sort of evolving, playful entity that’s amorphous and alive. I’ve always been inspired by the raw, unfiltered, and candid aesthetic of photographers like Daniel Arnold and Vivian Maier, and the human stories Brandon Stanton captures for ‘Humans of New York’. There’s something truthful in the images they produce that I deeply relate to and am excited by, and I tried to capture that spirit in this film. The docu-style approach felt like the best way to let our cast’s experiences and personas take center stage, but also to maintain authenticity and keep the narratives feeling real and grounded. On the other hand, I’m always trying to color outside the lines of reality in my work. So with true statements as the cornerstone, I was able to place our cast in these scripted scenarios that channeled something about who they are and what they wear. Overall it was crucial that we created a vibe, a palpable energy throughout, and for me, that was only going to happen if we let our cast be themselves.
NM: Take us through the creative process of the piece. How did you go about turning your vision into a short film?
MV: I already had a foundation built in my head for the subject matter, tone, and approach, but things really began to take shape once I began conversations with my team and we started pre-pro. Knowing that this film was rooted in these personal, true statements, we started with casting and worked our way back. I started a continuous feedback loop between our producer Jamie, and our stylists, Emily and Paige, to find a solid balance of faces, styles, and personas. From there we created a shortlist and began auditioning that list over video calls, making decisions, and pairing our cast off with each other based on who we felt would vibe. Camaraderie was a major theme in the film, so it was critical that whether or not our pairs knew each other, it felt like they did. Once we had our pairs, we were able to place them on our list of locations across the city. Who should appear at Grand Central, this timeless piece of architecture that’s instantly recognizable? Who’d feel right at home with the crowds at Washington Sq. Park? Simultaneously, Emily and Paige began selecting outfits and fittings, using the cast’s individual styles as a baseline and augmenting that with select vintage pieces from Dior, Prada, and Mugler. Meanwhile, Emmnanuella and I had begun discussing and sharing references for our visual style. We wanted to evoke a bit of a vintage yet timeless feeling in the image. We found this in specific techniques like long zooms (which I’m a particular fan of) and in the super 16mm filmstock itself.We mapped our days out and shot over two days in the fall, which made for an incredible patina and backdrop in some of our locations. Of course, there were speed bumps along the way, like MIA talent on the day, but I think having an airtight team with good trust and communication makes any challenges way less challenging. That was definitely the case in this film, and I’m so grateful for all of their work because it freed up my mental bandwidth on our days to focus on directing.
NM: Who did you work with to make it happen? And how did you make sure everyone was aligned?
MV: Communication was everything. Jamie, Emily, Paige, and Emmanuella were heavily involved in helping this take shape. Jamie was instrumental in helping me find our cast, as I mentioned above, and right away, Emily and Paige brought their creative energies to the table. We opened up this continuous exchange of ideas, and the approach to the wardrobe was quite clear: amplify each of our talent’s styles, starting with their own items, and then add rare and iconic flourishes to bring them even more to the forefront. Emily’s experience styling celebrity talent, combined with Paige’s expertise in vintage (and her extensive closet), really was the ultimate combo. Emmanuella was instrumental in helping triangulate the visual language for this. We wanted to create a look that felt both timeless and fresh at the same time, and we found it through our long zooms, super 16mm film, light, and framing. Along the way, I was in lockstep with our cast and spent time walking them through everything we planned to do from top to bottom, while still leaving room for improv moments along the way. The cohesiveness of this team was just impeccable and I felt so lucky to have them on this project. The casting plays a vital role in the piece.
NM: How did you select the cast and what were your criteria?
MV: I touched a bit on this earlier, but casting started with this flow of conversations between Jamie, Emily, Paige, and myself. It all started with brainstorming, getting down names of friends and acquaintances we could easily reach. Then, we broadened our scope, including some standout models and actors we’ve been following on social media, and those whose agencies were generous enough to lend us their talents.From a long list, we narrowed it down to 25 individuals, and Zoom interviews were key to helping us get a feel for everyone’s personality. Dressing is one thing, but were they articulate about their style? Are they enthusiastic and charismatic? We were looking for those sparks that ignite excitement in someone who encounters them for the first time. The added complexity here was that we weren’t just casting individuals; we had to create duos, and of course, it was all about the vibe, the chemistry. Who complements whom? How do they fit into the locations? We settled on an ensemble of nine that, I feel, brought a pretty special flavor to the table from Cameron’s 1960s/1970s jazz-like cool, to Sideara’s maximalist sensibilities.
NM: Could you take us through how you structured the interviews with the participants?
MV: Since the interviews were central to our dialogue, I always envisioned us holding them off-camera in a studio setting. This approach wouldn’t only facilitate our tight schedules but also create a stress-free environment for our guests, allowing them to unwind and share more openly. Establishing this vibe was crucial for achieving the delivery tone I sought. We arranged half-hour slots for everyone and I prepared around 10 questions to steer our discussions, covering a range from personal stories to viewpoints, while also allowing ample space for spontaneous chatter. In post, I worked closely with our editor Alex to turn our footage into something thoughtful and cohesive. Usually, our process involves us meeting up, chatting about the creative stuff, sharing some references, and setting a kinda loose plan for the edit. I normally have a pretty clear idea of what I want, and we always sit down to chat about every little detail – from how it flows, to transitions, titles, and credits. The conversation’s always flowing and I love working with Alex because he’s really great at taking an idea and just running with it, often coming up with a fresh take or tweak I hadn’t considered. We worked together on a rough paper edit from the interviews and gradually narrowed things down over several fun months, really getting to the heart of the film, and we’re super happy with how it turned out.
NM: How did the city of New York contribute to the film’s overall style and how did you pick the locations?
MV: The film is, in many ways, a love letter to my hometown, and it’s safe to say that it played an unspoken yet pivotal role in the film. I wanted it to be felt both subconsciously and directly in every frame, and ultimately it influenced pretty much all of our decisions along the way.To start, all locations had to be instantly recognizable and timeless. I’d gathered this sort of running mental list of places which we culled down based on two major factors- what would be attainable with our micro-budget, and where we could stage our playful scripted moments with talent. The idea to use a majority of public spaces was something that I knew I’d wanted to do early on, in particular, using some of our locations as a “public catwalk.” In this way, we’d be “democratizing” the runway, flipping the exclusivity of a haute couture show on its head.
NM: Were there any challenges in directing real people and ensuring their voices and identities were authentically represented?
MV: I’ve been filming unscripted projects that feature real people since I started directing, and it always calls for a bit of a bespoke approach. I always want to create an environment where the cast feels open and comfortable being their authentic selves – and that aspect was everything in this film. Each scene had to weave their personas, style, and stories, and I needed their co-sign on the way they were represented. Continuously talking and closely collaborating with each cast member through pre-pro really helped to maintain this atmosphere of authenticity in our decision-making, and captured that playful spontaneity that, I think, resulted in this effortlessness that we see in each scene.
NM: What projects are you currently working on?
MV: Aside from my commercial work, I’ve just finished the screenplay for my first short which I’m super excited about: a relationship drama set in the 1970s which I’m hoping to shoot early next year. Outside of that I’m also developing and pitching a few scripted and unscripted episodic projects with friends. Lots of irons in the fire.