The Big Smoke

Creative Direction: Dané Stojanovic
Photographer: Mitchell Phun
Stylist: Marne Schwartz
Fashion Assistant: Malcom Hall
Hair: Erol Karadag
Grooming: Olivia Barad
Models: Shayne Tino / Viviens & Roberta Pecoraro / Chic

New York is always rumbling, even when it’s frozen solid. You can feel it through your feet as the veins of the city pulsate from beneath. The city survives winter through a network of steam vents that provide warmth from its underbelly. However, like everything else in New York, it finds a way to break free and rise to the surface. Bursting in a cinematic explosion of clouds that billow onto the sidewalk, the smoke has become as ubiquitous as it is iconic to Manhattan. Walking through the haze, silky-grey plumes blind and engulf you entirely, obscuring the landscape with a film noir lens. It is dramatically accentuated during winter and surges throughout the city; a welcome distraction from the still, bitter air. Even at street level, you will always have your head in the clouds.