Thais Vandanezi Presents Punk Editorial

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Thais Vandanezi is a fashion, advertising, and celebrity photographer born in Minas Gerais, Brazil. She combines her background in Arts, Design, and Architecture with a postgraduate focus on Photography and Contemporary Art to create compelling visual narratives. Her personal projects delve into themes of identity, life, and Latin American behavior, reflecting a deep connection to her cultural roots.

In March of this year, Vandanezi will participate in a collective exhibition by PhotoVogue in Milan from the 6th to the 9th. Later that month, from the 25th to the 30th, she will launch her authorial photobook Latina – Fronteiras in Paris, which will also be released in Brazil in May. The photobook explores the dissolution of borders—both physical and metaphysical—capturing the journeys of those who have left their homes to embrace new realities and challenges. It is the result of a six-year study on the plurality of Latin American identities and territories, also embracing those who feel a sense of belonging to this culture in a reverse movement.

Shot on 35mm film, Latina – Fronteiras portrays the fluidity of connection, where bodies and spaces transcend imagined boundaries, embodying nostalgia and the human pursuit of freedom and self-discovery.

Photographer’s schedule for the first half of the year: March 6-9 – Exhibition with Photovogue at Base Milano. March 25-30 – Launch of the book “Latina – Fronteiras” in Paris at Galerie Paradia. In May – Launch of the book “Latina – Fronteiras”

Thais Recently started researching Punk movements and comparing their aesthetics in cities around the world, which I thought was super interesting, so I decided to have a chat with her about it, and this is the result.

Team credit:
Ildjima
Anaïs Bocciarelli
Nikita Busson
Patrick Kaplita
Mr Bonheur
Alicia

Makeup:
Lola Cadet

Hair:
Juanna

“I started researching some Punk movements and comparing their aesthetics in cities around the world such as Paris, London, Madrid, NY, and São Paulo. I then sought out some people who still embody the essence of this movement today to photograph in Paris. This shoot was done in analog with two cameras, the Nikon F100 and the Pentax Mini, using two types of film, Portra 400 and CineStill.

• Thais Vandanezi

The idea was to create something organic, so I invited Santa Marijuana to style the hair and Lola for makeup. They created something within this aesthetic, and everyone dressed as they felt comfortable. It’s an editorial that talks about fashion but mainly about attitude. After the photographs were ready, I printed them on matte paper and manually degraded them using various techniques to give them a vintage aesthetic, inspired by the Punk photo murals I found during my research. I then made some collages and compositions and rephotographed them digitally. I didn’t use photoshop.”

• Thais Vandanezi

Ok Thais, can you tell me about what made you want to start researching and documenting the punk movement in various cities? 
Thais: Actually, my interest was in documenting something about the Punk movement in Paris, but when I started researching I saw the differences between this same movement in other cities and I became curious about it.

Did you notice any significant visual or cultural differences between the punk movements in Paris, London, Madrid, NY, and São Paulo?
Thais: Yes, the aesthetics of the Punk movement change a little across countries. The Essence is the same, but some fashion, makeup and hair choices change and mix with the local culture.

So what does punk mean to you personally?
Thais: For me, this movement represents a counterculture movement, something transgressive and everything in that way interests me.

Why did you choose to shoot on analog rather than digital?
Thais: Because all of my original projects I photograph in analogue. And in this case, it was also an aesthetic choice, because I wanted a language similar to the images I saw in records of that moment.

What drew you to the Nikon F100 and the Pentax Mini for this project?
Thais: The quality of the F100 is incredible, so I always use it. The Pentax gives a more amateur aesthetic, because it’s not a professional camera, as if the images had been taken by a friend and I like that intimacy it generates

How did using Portra 400 and CineStill influence the final look of your images?
Thais: The Portra 400  is a professional film that brings greater fidelity, Cinestill, for me, brings a more underground aesthetic along with Pentax and I wanted that for this editorial.

What were the biggest challenges of working with film for this project?
Thais: The challenge of the film for me is almost always the same, the risk of losing it.

How did you select the people you photographed? What qualities were you looking for?
Thais: Juana, who created the beauty, and I were looking for people who really have some soul in this movement. She has a beauty salon in Republique that flirts a lot with this movement, so she knew a lot of people in this profile.

How did you work with Santa Marijuana and Lola to develop the styling?
Thais: The Editorial didn’t have stylis, people dressed the way they already dress, it was something real. Juana did her hair, she already has a lot of this urban underground aesthetic, she thought of something for everyone. Lola did the makeup, she works with special effects, so she made some scars and textures on the skin that looked really real.

Why was it important that everyone dressed as they felt comfortable rather than following a strict concept?
Thais: It was important because I wanted something closer to the real thing.

Can you explain some of the techniques you used to manually degrade the prints?
Thais: I printed the images, degraded them, made collages and rephotographed them.

What was the inspiration behind using physical manipulation instead of digital editing like Photoshop?
Thais: I don’t particularly retouch my analogue copyright images. In this project I wanted something that looked as real as possible and the image files I found were very old, degraded photos, so I thought I would also degrade mine to make them more interesting.

How did the process of collaging and rephotographing affect the final feel of the images?
Thais: It takes away some sharpness, but creates other types of texture in the image.

Were there any unexpected results or happy accidents during the degradation process?
Thais: Not really, but when that happens it’s always a positive surprise.

Do you see this project as purely aesthetic, or does it also carry a political or social message?
Thais: I believe that every image somehow carries a message. In this case, what I wanted was to show the underground urban scene in Paris, which is a counterpoint to the haute couture Paris, which is much more talked about, and many references to what we see in big brands come from the streets.

How do you think punk culture and attitude manifest in today’s fashion and youth movements?
Thais: Many elements of Punk fashion are used in current fashion, scarves, ripped jeans, pins, jackets, shits, haircuts. Big brands are inspired by elements used in this movement

What do you hope viewers take away from this project?
Thais: I always hope that people like the images, that they are curious about the textures and aesthetics and that they realize how much this movement still greatly influences Street fashion and various brands. It is important to know what we consume and what we communicate with our clothes