Flash
DanceHe’s been called
“the Andy Warhol
of Marrakech,”
but Hassan
Hajjaj defies easy
comparison, with
his vibrantly
layered portrait
photography
and bespoke
craftsmanship
that filter his own
Moroccan
heritage through
the lens of street
style. Hajjaj—
whose work is in
the permanent
collection of
art institutions
including the
Brooklyn Museum
and the Victoria
& Albert, among
others around
the world—
designs the clothes,
backdrops, and
frames for every
subject, playfully
juxtaposing
elements like
crate seating and
rows of canned
goods (a nod
to Uncle Andy)
with self-created
homages to
luxury labels. The
fashion in Hajjaj’s
pop jewels riffs on
his own background
hosting parties in
London. “I was
in the underground
scene for 10 years.
I started out
in a warehouse
in the 1980s.”
Which is why,
Hajjaj says, he
wanted to
shoot this portfolio.
“Working with
DJs is familiar—
it’s my world.”
—Louisa StraussDAVID GUETTA REMEMBERS his early days, in the late ’ 80 s, spin-
ning at gay bars in Paris. He’s not gay but those were the only
kind of clubs willing to play the house music he liked. “I was
paid a hundred bucks to play eight hours a day. I worked six
days a week and was treated like any other employee of the
club,” he says. But after a slight pause he reconsiders: “Actu-
ally, it was better to be a waiter. They got tips.” Then a funny
thing happened. “When the promoters realized that DJs were
not only creating an ambiance for the club, but driving ticket
sales, they started to book us as artists. From that, the industry
completely changed,” Guetta explains.
Now the bu, tan 52 - year-old private-jets from locations in
Ibiza, London, and Los Angeles to gigs around the rest of the
world; he can pull in $ 18 million a year as one of the superstar
DJs of our time. Arguably, he was the rst. His record sales have
surpassed 50 million, plus more than 10 billion streams for
his tracks; there have been collaborations with artists includ-
ing Madonna, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Usher, and the Black
Eyed Peas (“I Gotta Feeling”). A charismatic performer, he
handily lls 60 , 000 - seat stadiums around the world for con-
certs; 7 , 500 drink-swilling revelers can pack into one of the
mega-clubs where he spins.
Entering a venue like Ushuaïa or Hï Ibiza, two of the colos-
sal spaces on the White Isle where Guetta performs, is akin
to landing on another planet—a delirious one. NASA-level
technology powers lighting and sound systems that pulse and
undulate, blowing your mind and your body. Everything’s
in motion—lasers, walls of LED video screens, thousands of
gyrating physiques, plus acrobatics and costumed dancers.
Above all this ¢oats the DJ, a deity at the turntable altar. The
DJ is in total control, whipping the masses into a frenzy one
moment, sending them into a trance the next.
Humble vinyl spinners no longer, DJs are among the most
sought-after and highly compensated artists today. The top
18 acts raked in nearly $ 360 million between June 2018 and78 VANITY FAIR