I’m so excited to feature this woman on my blog as part of my ‘Interview of the Month’ series! I first met Alessia at a vegan lunch I organised with Noa (Style with a Smile) while she was visiting London. It was a range of influencers, bloggers, models, and of course, Alessia Chinazzo the photographer! I knew of her work from seeing her credited as the photographer for several of Marta Canga’s images and was looking forward to meeting her. As soon as we got chatting I felt like I could talk to her forever and knew that she was such a genuine person.

I ran into Alessia again at the latest Bare Fashion event in London and we got talking about her work as a vegan photographer and how she sees the vegan fashion industry from her perspective. I found it so inspiring that she was able to do what she loved (photography) for a living, but managed to do it on her own terms, sticking to her ethics as a vegan. I caught up with Alessia to find out a bit more about her journey as a vegan photographer and I’m so glad I can share a bit of her story with you all! Enjoy the interview and remember to follow Alessia on Instagram and Twitter too.

How long have you been vegan for? What persuaded you to make the change?

I’ve been vegan for just 2 years now. There are a few factors that made me decide to make this change, but it didn’t happen right away, in fact, I have been vegetarian since 2012 before committing to veganism completely. As to how it all started, well, we have to go back a bit, roughly seven years. When I was studying photography I became a really close friend with a girl in my class. One day we went for pizza and she had one with no mozzarella on top, so I asked her why, and she said she was vegan. I was curious, what’s a vegan? I knew close to nothing back then, so I asked her so many questions! Like the most annoying questions you could ask a vegan, yes, including “where do you get your protein?” and the “milk has calcium, right?” She didn’t give up and gave me good answers that resonated with me, and from that dinner on, I decided to stop eating meat. My decision was motivated by the fact that I told her that I loved animals, but veganism still felt too difficult, and it was limiting my food options, I mean, what’s pizza without mozzarella? Veganism was on the back of my mind, ever since, but it was only once I moved to London that I started digging deeper. I read books, watched documentaries, vegan YouTubers kept me company at breakfast, until the day that I made the final connection: being vegetarian was not enough to support my original “I love animals” statement. It’s only been two years but I am so not going back to eating animal products. 

You describe yourself as a “vegan photographer”, how does this affect your work?

As a vegan photographer, I photograph vegan and sustainable fashion and beauty brands and influencers. It’s a mouthful, I know, I should come up with a shorter explanation for that, maybe you can help? For me, it was a natural extension of being vegan. My everyday choices, from food to clothing were cruelty-free and, something felt a little off when I had to work for fur and leather brands. I think it was about a year ago when I decided to change that. I got in touch with vegan brands and influencers, and it’s also the time when I met Marta Canga. It’s incredible how that decision transformed my life, for the better!

In general, my job isn’t easy. Everyone who’s freelancing struggles a little bit from time to time. Focusing on the vegan market made it just a teeny bit harder, as the market is still growing. It’s totally worth it though; I love the fact that I get to work with brands and people that share the same beliefs. Another difference that I have noticed, is the fact that there’s a ton of support within the vegan community. It amazes me every time how we all get to connect and become friends over time. To sum this all up, becoming a “vegan photographer” made me happier as it aligns with my beliefs, more than that, I love that I can keep doing my job knowing that my photos are going to be used to promote something I deeply care about. 

What’s been one of the best projects you’ve worked on as a photographer?

This is a tough question. I love all the projects I’ve worked on, especially with Marta (Canga) as we have so much fun shooting together! In terms of the one that stuck with me the most this year, I’d go with the one I’ve done in April for Zoa Store. The founder, Alma, wanted to shoot the summer campaign in Miami and when she told me she wanted to work with me, I could not believe it! I consider this the best shoot because it was the first time I got to travel for work, and it was for a vegan brand, I still feel extremely blessed to have had that opportunity! As fabulous as it was, it has been a challenging shoot, with the sand, the wind, that shiny object in the sky we don’t see enough of in London, all made the light hard to manage. Also, the wrong week for me to eliminate coffee - yeah, jetlagged - as you can imagine, and yet, the photos turned out well. The client was happy, I was happy and I can’t wait for the moment I’ll have the chance to work on similar projects again.

What changes have you seen within the vegan fashion industry so far? 

I am definitely not a fashion expert, but I have been noticing a change of direction for a lot of brands because the customer cares a lot more about sustainability and transparency than ever before. Although, because of this, there’s also a lot of greenwashing happening. The certain thing is that a lot is changing and it’s nice to see that the fashion world is moving toward a more sustainable future, definitely more than it was a few years ago. Right now, I do believe that buying from small independent brands is the best choice we have to make a more sustainable impact. Another trend I have been noticing is buying second-hand clothing. I love to use garments until they can no longer be repaired so I am so happy to see this development in fashion because being trendy doesn’t have to be about owning the newest collection. I believe it’s more about giving life to the items you already own and giving a new life to second-hand ones. But, as I said at the beginning, I am not a fashion expert, all my clothes are black and I am using my wardrobe as storage space for my photography equipment, so, I have a lot to learn about fashion!