It was Jasmine Benjamin’s friend, the gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, who persuaded her she needed to make a book about L.A. style. From her early days going to shows and working the door at parties to her many years hustling as a stylist, Benjamin knew everyone — designers, skaters, musicians. She was fluent in the visual language that made up the city, knew its subcultures and neighborhoods like the back of her hand. In the intro to her new book, “City of Angels: A Book About L.A. Style,” Benjamin writes: “What happens in Los Angeles does not stay in Los Angeles,” referencing the immeasurable and often uncredited influence L.A. has had on fashion and culture around the world. Benjamin cites Alessandro Michele’s Gucci and Hedi Slimane’s Celine as just two of the many fashion houses who have drawn from L.A. culture in the last few years alone. Alongside a map of L.A. designed by artist Sickid that includes La Cita and the Troubadour, “City of Angels” features a foreword by British Vogue editor Chioma Nnadi: “I have Jasmine Benjamin to thank for opening my eyes to the city. … Standing in the middle of the crowd at a small music festival on the Eastside, and I couldn’t help but stop and stare: the kids here dressed with so much verve, pulling from a smorgasbord of sartorial references — skate, surf, goth, you name it. I was totally spellbound.”
It was important to Benjamin that “City of Angels” be captured through her lens, marking her debut as a first-time photographer. She shot 124 photographs of L.A. icons in front of meaningful locations — from Tropical Juice in Highland Park to the Jewelry District — inspired by the format of old Japanese street-style shots in Fruits magazine. Flipping through “City of Angels” feels like going through the ultimate L.A. yearbook, where everybody wins “best dressed.” Part of the excitement is spotting how many people you know, charting L.A.’s creative communities as an interconnected web. There is a feeling that arises seeing this patchwork of faces in print: These are the artists, designers, musicians of our time — from Barrington Darius to Sonya Sombreuil, from YG to Isabelle Albuquerque, Pia Davis and Autumn Randolph to Lee Spielman, Lauren Halsey to Guadalupe Rosales. The list goes on.
With “City of Angels” the world is invited to understand that L.A. style has never just been about the clothes. It’s about the way people move here, the way they contribute to the city and each other.
Julissa James: I saw Jay 305 after the Vogue piece on your book came out. He was holding court at Canyon Coffee and was like, “Did you see my picture in Vogue?” He was so excited.
Jasmine Benjamin: I love that you just said that. There are so many reasons why I wanted to do this book, but that’s one of the reasons: For someone to uplift these people and this point of view. Everyone in L.A. knows Jay 305. He’s the flyest. He has so much charisma. He’s super around the way. I didn’t tell Vogue to pick him, but of course they picked him.
JJ: How did this book come about? I know that you are a collector of books and coffee-table books in general. I’m wondering, were you looking at your collection thinking, “Something like this is missing.”
JB: I am a lover of books and media because I came up before social media, so magazines were the most important thing. That’s how you figure out who’s at the parties — you look at a magazine. So archiving is important, but I do have to always make sure that I highlight Jeffrey Deitch, because he’s my friend, and he is the one who put this in my ear. He was just like, “You should do a book. You’re really smart, you have great taste and you have the most diverse group of communities that you know in L.A. that really represent L.A. You should do a book about L.A. style.”
JJ: I know that so many people featured in the book came from a natural connection. Can you tell me a little bit about your history and background in L.A., and how you got to know so many of these people in creative circles?
JB: I moved to L.A. in 2002 to go to FIDM. I had a roommate and my roommate’s cousin was friends with this girl. Literally, the first place they ever took me to was Leimert Park with [filmmaker and artist] Kahlil Joseph and his girlfriend. It was to a party called “Juju.” That’s back in 2002 or 2003. I was so lucky to have the first point be a local thing, and not just get caught up in the craziness of the Hollywood industry. Then I was interning in Interscope Records and going to shows. Then I was working the door at these speakeasies that were really important back then, called Temple Bar and Zanzibar. Everybody was there — Flying Lotus, Miguel, Thundercat, J*Davey, all those people. But they were babies! I was a baby.
JJ: How did you go about casting?
JB: I did start with putting an Excel sheet together of every single person that I thought should be in it, whether I knew them or not. Getting my Virgo moon and rising in gear. From that, I’d be like, “OK, who’s missing? What cultures am I not getting? Who do I know in those places, and what are the cultures that I want represented that I think are Los Angeles?” The first time I did it, I probably had 80 people I wrote down. The book is 124 [people].
JJ: What strikes me also — I know it’s a book about L.A. style, and the subject is front and center — but it also almost feels like an archive of the city.
JB: This is my first book, so I had an intention of what I wanted it to be from the beginning, but at the end, when I was putting it all together, I was like, “You know what? The book really is about the style, the people and the places.” A lot of these places that I shoot at with people, they mean something to me too. I also felt like I had to do this because I don’t know how long the regional style is going to stay with us because of the internet. Also people were dying, like Spanto. He’s been a friend of mine for many years. The urgency was just [building] more and more because of all the things that were happening in Los Angeles. I had to capture L.A. the way that I see L.A., the way I experience it, and how I love it, forever.
JJ: You talked about regional L.A. style. If you had to put some words to what that is, what would they be?
JB: I would always say classics and workwear — because that style, those two things, exist literally in every type of different subculture. They’re wearing it in their own way. When I say classics I mean white tees, dress shoes, denim. Dickies forever, canvas shoes. Those things are part of Los Angeles [style] no matter your age, economic background, race or gender.
JJ: You put together this book over the course of years. Are there any specific stories or interactions you had while making the book that stand out in your memory?
JB: When I look at the photos, I can remember almost everything that happened that day. Definitely taking Spanto and Alex [2Tone]’s photo at the park, because it was just a normal day with Spanto. Nobody loves L.A. more than Spanto. I remember when I took the photo, I was still really early on taking photos, and I didn’t have my memory card in the camera. I only got one photo. They were like, ‘Well, we’re gonna be down the street at Alex’s, so you can just go home and get your memory card’ — because I lived close by — and I went and took more photos. But guess what ended up being the photo? The first photo. Another really great one was talking to YG — he is so enthusiastic and very intelligent and well-studied when it comes to Los Angeles style. I also loved talking to the [Polio] twins. I’ve known them for so many years, from shopping at Opening Ceremony or parties. When I came to their neighborhood, they were like, “We can’t believe you came to our neighborhood.” And I was like, “This is the whole point of the book!” They were just so kind to me. Barrington Darius on the block his entire family grew up on in Watts for almost 70 years. Even Jesse Jo Stark. Jesse’s a part of the conversation — L.A. girl, fashion royalty. Now we’re just friends forever.
JJ: Why do we need a book like this in the world?
JB: It’s way overdue. L.A. needs its own visual survey of what people look like that live here, not just work here.
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