Portrait of a Young Photographer: Van Strahl or the new wave of Cult Image-Makers - by Coco Dolle

Image courtesy of Van Strahl Studio

Portrait of a Young Photographer: Van Strahl or the new wave of Cult Image-Makers 

By Coco Dolle - August, 2025

“I work with all of my idols”,  Van said during our conversation, his voice carrying both enthusiasm and reverence. 

I met Van Strahl recently on the discussion panel Behind the Lens moderated by Jacob Brown (former editor of NYT Style Magand creative director at Vogue) at Neuehouse in New York, alongside renowned fashion photographer Alexi Hay. During the talk, Van mentioned his love for traditional contact sheets, the play of variations in light and processing, and the thrill of searching for imperfections, then finding ways to resolve them. It struck me as deeply reminiscent of the late 90s and Y2K, the so-called “golden years” of fashion photography, when raw intimacy, on-camera-flash, and anti-glamour aesthetics shaped a new lifestyle of creative expression. I became curious about the evolution of his own visual language.

Image courtesy of Van Strahl Studio

The seeds of Van’s vision were planted early years in his home, staring at a Terry Richardson print in his parents’ hallway, and gazing at a self-portrait of David Sorrenti. Throughout his childhood, Van shaped his eye through both intimacy and emotional connection. 

Image courtesy of Van Strahl Studio

Wandering the streets of New York, Van picked up his first Leica Minilux at fourteen, after years of experimenting with stop-motion videos on a Kodak point-and-shoot. His initiation into fashion came early backstage at a Helmut Lang show where his mom was modeling. By chance, a Vogue editor reached out for his backstage photos. He remembers leaving school early to finish his edits, his first real deadline, and a defining moment.
 

Image courtesy of Van Strahl Studio

Today, he still occasionally apprentices under contemporary masters like Inez & Vinoodh, absorbing their craft and sensitivity while simultaneously building his own community through Instagram and word-of-mouth. Van’s work blends cult nostalgia with a forward-looking edge, carving a place for himself in the lineage of Mario Sorrenti, Juergen Teller, Terry Richardson, Inez & Vinoodh, and Roversi, the very names that defined the golden era.

Van Strahl embodies the continuity of fashion’s cult image-makers-next-gen, yet rooted in legacy. After the panel, we had a one-on-one conversation: 

CD: What are your top five photographer inspirations ? 

VS: Mario Sorrenti, Juergen Teller, Terry Richardson, Inez & Vinoodh, Paolo Roversi.

CD: Tell me about your connection with your idols. How does it shape your practice and your sensibility ?

VS: Honestly, it’s all because of my upbringing, my dad was a musician and my mom a super model. By trade I had two artist-parents growing up. They were huge on art and photo books at home. So my entire life has been super curated in terms of what I’m into. 

CD: What are your top five music influences when shooting in a studio?  

VS: Mazzy Star, The Smiths, Joy Division, The Cure, Sade.

Van Strahl self-portrait, New York, 2025
 

CD: Is the notion of creative freedom important when you shoot ? Or do you prefer to work with a defined set frame of work ?

VS: It depends on the project, because I obviously love full creative control. But I can also appreciate someone else’s ideas and help develop them. 

CD: What do you think about AI generated image-making in fashion ? For instance, what about that J-Crew ad.

VS: Honestly, I don’t blame them because of the amount of roadblocks and hoops to jump through in order to achieve something so simple. We have a tendency to overcomplicate and overthink everything nowadays, to the point where we’re getting in our own way. No wonder they hired someone who says “yes” and makes everyone happy. People are losing their job to AI but all the legendary photographers aren’t. There is a reason for that. 

CD: Would you say you are an idealist or a realist in the construct of your image-making ?

VS: In this day and age, you have to be a realist with what resources you have available. But it’s important to stay an idealist, because in the creative world, the sky is the limit. 

CD: How do you see the next five years of your career ?

VS: Besides from my own personal career goals, I really want to be in a place where I can be helping my other artist friends, cultivating a community of cool people and work alongside them. WM