In Bulgaria too, one of the thirteen countries nominated for entry into the European Union, many young people appear to already want to experience a down-payment on the new status of their land. They purchase all sorts of luxury brand name articles, causing the face of this former Eastern bloc nation to undergo a metamorphosis.

Wylie (b. 1971), since 1997 a member of Magnum and the youngest photographer to ever be accepted into the agency, photographed in Bulgaria in 2002. His photographs are part of the project Images of a New Europe, in which several Magnum photographers are reporting on the life in the future EU member states.

Photos: courtesy Magnum Photos