September 10, 2018

Established fashion photographer, Lope Navo, shared a glimpse of New York and Brazil’s fashion landscape through his camera lens on his lecture at MINT School of Fashion with renowned fashion designer, Lesley Mobo, last August 29. 

Navo is an established fashion photographer based in New York who did various photo shoots for renowned fashion houses and modeling agencies. Lively and all-smiles, he began his talk by sharing his “passion for magazines.”

The glossy print was his catalyst to take the leap of faith and pursue fashion photography after taking up Fine Arts at Far Eastern University here. “I remember leaving for New York after college, only bringing with me my savings and my portfolio,” he shared.

The Manila-born shutterbug engaged MINT students by showing a sample of his work on a cover of L’Officiel magazine and a slideshow of his notable shoots for various magazines such as Vogue, Digital Photographer, and many more. 

Navo also dished about working with famous models and well-known portrait photographers in fashion while abroad. Besides New York, he also considers Brazil, specifically Sao Paulo, as his other home. He also presented to the class the behind-the-scenes of his famed Dior shoot in Brazil for the Lady Dior collection. 

He also shared that his profession is not only limited to capturing the aesthetic of the model. Being an educated visual artist too, he chose to call his fashion photos as “portraits” instead. 

Intense, candid, and passionate—his portfolio reflects the models as people rather than just mannequins. “Connection is needed. You must be able to work with people to grow in the industry,” he said to the class.

He described the fashion industry today as “very competitive.” Still, he believed that with passion, it is possible to thrive. 

“We have a lot of talented Filipinos here [...] I believe that we got the talent and skill to thrive in the industry. A proper program should be available for us to guide our passion in this craft,” he said. He also asked students to “keep an open mind, be curious and never be afraid to experiment” to be able to make it in the fashion world. 

Industry adviser, Lesley Mobo, explained that MINT’s Fashion program would focus on “treating our students as if they are already active in the actual industry.” Their classes would mainly involve projects that will showcase the students' skills. He also added that fashion as an art, is all about “creation” and that he planned to instill this perspective to MINT students. 

MINT COLLEGE

Established in the Philippines in 2010, MINT College provides tertiary and secondary level education that is relevant, engaging for students, and taught by industry professionals. MINT offers programs in business, arts and technology with a cross-disciplinary approach strictly adhering to internationally accepted standards. MINT students thrive in a collaborative environment immersed in creativity and engaging activities that prepare them for real-world application. 

College programs currently offered are in Business: Entrepreneurial Management, Marketing, Music Business Management; Design and Visual Arts: Multimedia Arts, Film, Theater Arts; and Technology: Computer Science, Information Technology.  Senior High School tracks are currently offered in Arts and Design; Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM); and General Academic. MINT has recently launched the School of Fashion, which offers a 1-year and 2-year Certificate Program.