In the coverage of the global economic crisis, sometimes all the zeros on the figures of corporate bonuses, bailouts, profits and slumps only frustrate and dumbfound. Christian Kryl‘s Top of the World, shot in the Swiss resort village of St. Moritz, bypasses the unmanageable numbers and depicts those zeros in the furs, the luxury cars and the private helicopters of the international jet-set.

Switzerland is well-known for its well-heeled upper-class and its well-insulated banking sector providing tax shelters for the global elite. Kryl, who describes the experience of St. Moritz as “being in a James Bond movie,” is fascinated by displays of affluence.

“St. Moritz, St. Tropez and Monaco are all villages that through the media — especially the media of the ’50s and ’60s — became really famous,” says Kryl, who lives and works in The Hague in the Netherlands. “As a result, they’ve become places with uber-image. I like to photograph the people that do everything to be part of this image.”

Cleverly, maybe even spitefully, Kryl depicts the monied class as floating alien beings in a snowbound world. Outrageous furs dominate in this white-out paradise.

“Furs have always been a part of St. Moritz; it is one of the few places in the world where you still can wear a fur without being judged for it,” says Kryl. “But also in St. Moritz, it’s a statement.”

See more images @ Raw File.

(Source: Wired)