When you first meet Julio Cortez, he strikes you as a quietly charming, funny, and uplifting gentleman. He runs Style Quake, a fashion blog where he posts interviews from designers and blogs about the local fashion community, interns for Threadflip, and even participated in New York Fashion Week as a photographer. Despite his busy schedule, Cortez also participates in SFSU’s Fashion Network Association to become more involved with other students, and “be around students hustling towards a career in fashion and discovering what San Francisco style has in store for us.”
Cortez describes his personal style as “constantly under construction.” His personal style shifts as his moods and aesthetics changes. Similarly, his photography style changes with his personal style, and he described how in high school he loved striped cardigans and Polaroid film, while in 2010 he “only wanted to shoot in fish eye and wear nothing but the clothes that I was slaving over at Allsaints.” His current obsession lies with Instagram filters, and he goes for the organic, messy, yet presentable look found in consignment stores that shows off his San Francisco street style. Overall, when he shoots his pictures, he is “always looking for ways to frame my shot around moods or pleasing lines if the scene isn’t chaotically sped up.” For fashion week, he captured emotions and events happening around people backstage, and at times, “just trying to catch whatever I could get.”
Cortez shot New York Fashion Week through Rachel Scroggins, a contact that he met through Livejournal in a Gwen Stefani L.A.M.B. fashion community. Cortez admits that they’re “huge nerds for No Doubt’s music” and really “admired Rachel’s photography, especially her Rock Steady tour shots from 2002 and any of her NYFW coverage.”
When asked about his biggest surprise from New York Fashion Week, he said, “You’re either there to work or you’re there to look pretty and be photographed.”
He described his first day working as miserable, hot and overdressed, and although he did get a street style shot by the Cut, he got caught up with shooting the shows and running up and down buildings and taking the subway every two hours across town and back (and forth and back and forth…).
One would think that the opportunity to go to New York Fashion Week comes with parties and shopping, but Cortez really explained what it means to be there to work.
“At one point I forgot to shower for two days and gave up on wanting to go out at night or even shop around. I’ll never forgot how hard I had to hustle that week for 20-something shows and presentations, and it’s nothing but a dent compared to the 40+ shows Rachel shot.”
He also decribed how small and cramped it was backstage, and how everyone present had a purpose to the show.
Of course, with New York Fashion Week comes celebrities and high-profile figures. Rachel Scroggins introduced Cortez to Chriz Benz during their coverage of his Spring 2013 presentation, and from there Cortez said, “I got to see Susan Sarandon with her two pups, Kelly Osbourne looking slim as ever, and Joan Rivers! Then we drank champagne on the Avery Hall terrace at Lincoln Center overlooking the fountains and countless street style photographers chasing the bloggerati.”
And what should you do if you want to go into his line of work? “Like what you do and be excited!”
Want to connect with Julio Cortez?
Blog- http://thestylequake.com
Twitter- https://twitter.com/JulioCortez
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/stylequake
Instagram- http://www.gramfeed.com/stylequake
All images by Julio Cortez