It was back in 2007 during a year studying in New York that Mr Jonathan Daniel Pryce took his first street-style photograph on an old 35mm Pentax camera. Back then nobody really called it “street style”, the now ubiquitous practice of photographing people walking through a city in great clothes, but Mr Pryce – inspired by the burgeoning style blogs of the time – was onto something. Over a decade later and Mr Pryce (known as GarconJon) is one of the most eminent street snappers in the game, travelling the globe in search of its best-dressed characters.

Condensing all of that style across years and cities into something tangible is tough, but he’s managed to do so in his new book, Garçon Style. Spanning seven years of shooting at the fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris, the book is a smorgasbord of style, and documents the finest-dressed men of our time. “I love the immediacy and urgency of the street,” Mr Pryce writes in the book’s introduction. Far more than just a concrete slab with pedestrians, it’s a theatrical space; layers of interaction traverse each other, creating a liminal space. I snap a slice of that.”

MR PORTER asked the photographer to tell us about some of his favourite subjects from the book. He whittled them down to five, below.

“Sam and Shaka are the designers behind Art Comes First. There’s something about their strength and irreverence that shines through in their presentation, mixing skinny jeans with wide-brimmed hats. I particularly love the hand-painted leather jackets that have become iconic for their brand.”

“I spotted Nordine from quite far away and it took a minute to catch up with him. It was his tattoos that struck me at first with their black density and geometric shapes. Up close I was able to appreciate the simple details like a crisp, pale-blue, single-pocket cotton shirt and symmetrical silver earrings. To me, he looked like the embodiment of Parisian style in 2018. This is one of my favourite portraits from the book.”

“After shooting street style at fashion week for so many years, I’ve witnessed the style evolution of many industry insiders. Two men who are consistent with their approach are Ben Cobb and Tom Stubbs. Both have a confidence to their way of dressing that arrives only with experience. This was photographed on a warm evening outside the Prada show in Milan and is one of those fleeting moments that only a camera can capture.”

“It was a cold Saturday morning in January when I photographed Jeenu in Mayfair. The heat from inside the window formed condensation that created a painterly light on the glass. This was an occasion when I spotted the location before the subject. I was lucky that Jeenu walked past. I often have quite lot of interaction with my subjects, but he didn’t even notice me at first. I was really taken with the juxtaposition between his youthful face and such a sophisticated outfit.”

“It was easy for me to select this image of Luke as the cover of the book as it so perfectly reflects what I’m drawn to in menswear: clothing with a story. He is wearing a dispatch rider’s coat from 1944, made by the British military with leather shoes by Raf Simons. Even without knowing the details of the outfit, the onlooker can tell this coat has lived a long life.”

“I photographed Nico in the West Village on one of the most humid days of the year. Nico had the stance that only a trained dancer can achieve and, standing against the metal red pillar, he looked like he’d stepped through time from 1975. His outfit is simple and comfortable, but there’s no doubting his moustache and flannel shirt made him stand out from the crowd.”

“Paul Weller’s music filled my family home as a child and I’ve seen hundreds of images of him. My experience taking his photograph on Portobello Road was certainly surreal. I love the personality he brings to every look, and as a man who knows how to wear a suit, he has made tailoring his own from one decade to the next. Here, he wears a double-breasted navy suit that he designed himself. The details are so important, like the two-tone shoes and his iconic mod haircut.”

Garçon Style: New York, London, Milano, Paris (Laurence King) by Mr Jonathan Daniel Pryce is out today, 2 September 2019