Sunday in Sharon’s Garden: An Anglomania Study
A raw, poetic exploration of historical subversion, casual indifference and 1990s British romanticism.
THE CREDITS
Photography: Ray Smith Photography Styling: Sharon Hilton Fashion: Vivienne Westwood archive — historical silhouettes and textured knitwear from the Anglomania era Model: New Face from Models 1 — and a full-time skateboarder Location: Sharon’s garden, North London Camera: 1947 MPP 5×4 Film: Polaroid Type 55 positive/negative film Colourised
THE STORY
Shot quietly on a Sunday afternoon, this editorial channels the spirit of Vivienne Westwood’s design language: historical tailoring, British subversion, romantic texture and a refusal to behave politely.
The model had recently come through Models 1, but she was far more interested in skateboards than fashion or the scene around it. That detachment became part of the pictures.
There were no synthetic backdrops or high-fashion pretences. Westwood’s theatrical, textured clothes were placed into the honest landscape of a North London garden — overgrown hedges, weathered brickwork, a domestic washing line and found objects.
The Type 55 negatives had to be kept wet in a tank full of clearing liquid, all the way back to my darkroom in Brighton. They were later printed by Jono at Jono’s Darkroom.
The clothes, the model, the location and the pale London light did the work.
The garden gave the pictures their atmosphere.
