Dolce & Gabbana got conflict photographer Franco Pagetti to shoot its Fall Winter 2016-2017 campaign. Ntombenhle Shezi finds out whyItalian photographer Franco Pagetti did not fall in love with photography as much as he did with a photographer, he says over the phone from his Milan studio.After realising his passion lay behind the lens, Pagetti worked as an assistant in a darkroom, learning to develop and print black and white images, before moving to Italian Vogue in 1985."The late '80s and early '90s were really experimental when it came to fashion ... Those were good times and it was not as commercial as now," he says. In 1997 he decided to focus on reportage and photojournalism.Pagetti has captured powerful images of the effects of conflict all over the world, including in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Syria and Libya. His portfolio includes the striking essay "Five Years in Iraq", a set of images captured during the war for Time Magazine.While working on a documentary in New York, he received a call from Domenico Dolce, one half of Dolce & Gabbana. The brand wanted something different for its latest campaign. Pagetti wanted to bring his reportage approach to the campaign and the clothes, and the design house gave him full freedom to follow his ideas.The campaign was shot on busy Spaccanapoli street in Naples. "Naples for me is not even Italy. It is a Mediterranean pot with people from North Africa, the Middle East and the rest of Europe with a rich history and culture," he says of the coastal city.The shoot included a diverse range of models including latest "It Girl" Mayowa Nicholas from Nigeria. Pagetti urged the models to hit the streets and interact with people. His brief was simple: "No posing."The resulting images include everyday people, some of whom were spotted in rival brands. A woman in the campaign appears in a Louis Vuitton scarf. Someone is spotted with an Armani bag. Neither was edited out.Although Pagetti worked with a big crew, he stressed the importance of being afforded his own space, so no one interrupted him to fix a model's hair or makeup."When I am in Iraq or in Afghanistan I am hanging around a lot by myself with perhaps a fixer. I am not talking. I am just waiting around, I am thinking and observing. On this shoot it was important that I got that feeling too," he says.Although his work has taken him to some of the most high-risk areas in the world, he describes his work on the latest Dolce & Gabbana campaign as being the most daunting, a huge responsibility, but nonetheless a proud moment in his career...