The street style world was hit with terrible news this week, as OG photographer Tommy Ton announced his departure from Style.com. While this is unlikely to be Ton's full-on retirement from the street style game, seeing him say goodbye to the now-closing website is like saying goodbye to an entire era of fashion.
That's not hyperbole either. Ton has seen and photographed the biggest names coming in, out, and around the spectacle of fashion weeks worldwide. Naturally, this meant that Ton would take a few pictures of Kanye West. But what Ton captured wasn't just any picture of West at Fashion Week; he captured the photo of West at fashion week.
You're probably more familiar with this photo than you are with any other image in Ton's archive, and that's understandable. With the image parodied in the now classic South Park episode "Fishsticks," the image has reached a level of pop-culture phenomena.
Ton said of the experience in a 2013 interview with Complex:
"I was laughing so hard when I saw the way that they placed them in that episode! It was the same position as the image! Things really travel quickly, especially with the Internet. I was in shock, but I mean I don't go around saying 'my photo was in South Park!' I don't take much credit for it."
But having his legendary image ripped off for a few laughs was certainly worth it in the long run. The whole experience ultimately led to a meet-up between the Louis Vuitton Don and Ton in Paris (natch).
As Ton told Complex:
"[Kanye's] a good friend. I was in shock when we first met, and that he was even aware of what I did. He made Anna Dello Russo hunt me down in Paris in 2011 so he could talk to me.
And yes, West did actually show up.
"He showed up just before midnight, and he's like 'Yo! Let's go have champagne, it's your birthday!' I had no idea what the hell was happening. We had some champers then went back to the Marais to sit and chop it up."
Naturally, things took a turn for the bizarre—and by bizarre, we mean Parisian street karaoke with Yeezus himself.
"We started talking about clothes—this was the beginning of his idea to do a line—and obviously me, being a nerd, was like 'I really love 808s. And I love when you sing a cappella.'
Does Ton's departure from Style.com signal a disappointing end to an incredible era of street style? Sadly, yes. But when you're ringing in your birthday with a private Kanye West a capella show, we're confident that Ton made (will continue to make) the most of his incredible street style work.
