How Paris and photography has allowed Toni Maticevski to ‘fall in love with the art of making again’

Australian fashion designer Toni Maticevski first went to Paris in the 90s – a young graduate with big hopes.

Now, 27 years on, the Melbourne creative continues to embrace the city that changed his life, relocating for three months earlier this year. He settled in the 16th arrondissement with the intention to take the road less travelled and reacquaint himself with a city that stole his heart in his 20s.

Armed with a vintage Canon camera, Maticevski, who has dressed everyone from Taylor Swift to J-Lo and has regularly shown in Paris since 2012, swapped couture gowns for the camera’s capture and shades of black and white.

“I first went to Paris before I started my fashion label with whatever money I had saved after finishing school and university. I was that kid who dreamed of living in Paris, so I packed my bags in 1998 and off I went to work for a few different fashion houses (including Cerruti).

I went back again in 1999 for another year, and by then had already started working on a collection that I took with me and went door knocking, determined to stay.

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There’s something beautiful and almost fairytale like about Paris … the architecture captures you — the ornamentation and decoration is captivating compared to the life back in Melbourne, from the industrial side of Footscray and Yarraville where I was based. The landscape of Paris attracted me.

There was less than a handful of Australian labels showing in Paris when I started in 2012. Many had a showroom space where multiple brands were showing, but I was quite adamant I wanted to do it on my own terms. I didn’t want to exhibit my brand according to someone else’s formula.

I took three months off this year for the first time in my career and chose Paris. I had always stayed in the 11th arrondissement for work for many years — an iconic fashion hub, but I wanted a different experience this time. I rented a beautiful apartment out in the 16th, which felt quite removed, but at the same time still a part of Paris.

I want to see a peripheral view of Paris, as opposed to an internal one. It was the first time I approached Paris in a way I had never experienced in 20 years of travelling there. Some parts I’d sort of forgotten even existed, like galleries and restaurants that had sort of bypassed me, came back into view.

Taking the wrong streets in Paris for the first time allowed me to discover new things; a monument I’d never seen — it was a nice freeing way to be immersed in a city.

I discovered the art gallery Henri-Cartier Besson Fondation in the 3rd. I didn’t even know it was there, and I’d walk past these streets to get to the Marais district, but when you’re not walking on a work mission, you’re all of a sudden paying attention to your surroundings. I had also never been to Musee Picasso either, and there I was in the Grimaldi Castle gardens of the museum.

I started taking portraits seven years ago and posted them on Instagram. I ended up getting a lot of hate from this and lost 7000 followers overnight.

I thought this is really interesting — like, 90 per cent of the fashion industry is gay! I was sharing a beautiful picture that was being misinterpreted as something else — that’s when I realised there was a power in creating an image that can stir people’s thinking and really wanted to explore that idea.

A couple of photographs of male models in my new book The Way I See You — which ties with an exhibition — were shot while in Paris (this year). I was shooting in the Hotel Bowmann Paris, known for its sweeping Hausmann architecture and very modernised interiors. I like to create an intimate setting where people feel like they’re not on show, and don’t need to worry about the eyes on them.

Going back to Paris for this creative trip also reaffirms I’m not ready to walk away from creating fashion. I did get to a point where I questioned why I’m doing this? It felt like I’m performing as opposed to loving what I was doing it. I needed a moment to take a breath and Paris allowed this.

I’m a workaholic, and I thought pausing would dry up the creativity, but it actually started to flow. I made my debut in fashion in 1999, and won the New Designer Award in 2002; fast forward to 2025 and I was really reflecting on what I had become as a designer.

I’m not technically trained in photography — I trust what I see and feel and respond accordingly. I’m not pretending to be anything that I’m not, but at the same time, I have a vision and perspective that is unique when it comes to portrait photography.

Picking up a camera has allowed me to fall in love with the art of making again and dabbling in that in Paris has been a great experience for me.”

The Way I See You, Volume 1 , is printed as an edition of 500 copies, available now via thewayiseeyou.com; the exhibition is open via appointment through info@thewwayiseeyou.com