Before talking about the photoshoot I would like to introduce Don Cano first!
My little job in a clothing store in the center of Reykjavik gave me the chance to meet someone I really enjoy, Jan Davidsson!I could tell you a lot about him but I will try to be as concise as possible. Not yet eighteen, a call came to Jan to go to London and learn the finest tailoring. Soon after, he worked on suits for the Duke of Windsor, and eventually studied clothing engineering and technology in Sweden. Excelling in the knowledge of cloth production and manufacturing, he became a consultant to the European clothing industry.A grant from UN linked to a request from the Icelandic government led to his arrival in Iceland. Even today, he remember landing on Runway 06/24 at Reykjavik Airport on the 5th of January 1970. It was everything he imagined and more. The task at hand: to survey and make improvements to the Icelandic clothing industry. Karnabær, Gefjun, Sportver, Álafoss, Última and others were clients. Starting up the Bandido Jeans by Karnabær, it was the first and only authentic jeans brand to be designed and produced in Iceland. Assembly line, machinery and methods of manufacturing were all engineered by father Gunnar and himself.His better judgment did not support big scale manufacturing of clothing in Iceland. And his best advice to Karl was to close his factory.Ella, his wife at that time, came up with the name DON CANO. God knows how it came to be or where it came from. But they all thought it was the coolest brand name on this side of the Equator. It lifted up their spirits to the seventh heaven and just like the phoenix bird, they shook off our old ashes and started anew. Everyone loved it! Adults displayed it with class at every occasion. Teenage kids slept in it. And in a couple of years, Don Cano became the no. 1 household brand in Iceland. Everyone owned a piece.
Nanna Leifsdóttir, the youngest Icelandic Olympian, and her teammates from the Icelandic national team wore Don Cano at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic Games. Vigdís, Icelandʼs beloved president, was a fan too.
Sales blossomed beyond believe; soon Don Canoʼs sales/license agreements rolled out in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England and Switzerland, hitting markets and stores alike, Harrods and Lillywhites in London, Steen & Strøm in Oslo and many others. In 1983, Don Cano sales in Norway, reached 400 mil. ISK, which was about 3 Mil € (wholesale value).
Now, itʼs been more than thirty years since production of DON CANO stopped. Somehow it has never left his thoughts. And in all these years good people kept prompting him to finish the story. His story. Don Canoʼs story. Itʼs late in the day, so what is there to wait for, but to reunite and pass on the dream that began so beautifully more than forty years ago.
If want to know more about Don Cano Story, you can read it on http://doncano.is/the-story/
As now you know a bit more about this brand and his founder, I can tell you that I am very happy to be part of this adventure and to participate in the writing of a new story page of Don Cano alongside Jan Davidsson. As Don Cano clothes being intended for everyday use as for outdoor sports I have to start a series of photos with outdoor sports. The goal is to preserve this vintage look that goes so well to the brand while rejuvenating its image to bring it up to date.
Iceland is the perfect playground to benefit from incredible scenery. So we started with the Sólheimajökull glacier in the south of the country, I decided to take with me a Para 88 with a MobiLed connected to the Move Pack 1200 L and this kit brought me a perfect versatility to achieve all the images.
Our second shooting spot was a place that gives us the impression of having landed on the planet Mars. The days are now very short in Iceland, and when we arrived there at 15:30 the light of the day was already disappearing, so I added to my set up a Siros L 400 to illuminate the background of my subject and it helped me create a special atmosphere in this unique environment.
