February is Fashion Month and in London, that can only mean one thing – the people-watching just got a whole lot more interesting. Glamorous editors, lithe young models and outrageously attired scenesters pound the pavements for London Fashion Week, going from show to soirée in pursuit of the next big thing. It all looks fabulous (if not tiring) so if you want your fashion fix but fancy an antidote to all that jazz, head to the south bank and to the enclaves of the Wapping Project Bankside, which is hosting the first solo exhibition of fashion photographer Paolo Roversi.
Most fashion shoots are a colourful riot of posed models, replete in the splendour of contemporary trends. Not so with Roversi. The Italian shutterbug makes photographs – often black and white portraits – that could easily cast off the label of fashion photo, missing as they often are, the main element of clothes. Yes, there are lots of nudes in this show but the images themselves are reminiscent of old Victorian photographs, sometimes eerily atmospheric, sometimes disquietingly still, but all without the stiff formality of the former era. The result is hauntingly beautiful images – Roversi seems to draw out the sitter’s vulnerabilities and then use them to ethereal effect. Featuring favourite muse Guinevere van Seenus, with photos from the Nudi and Studio series, this is one fashion moment that’s truly in season. On until March 31st. (Words: Jane Duru)
For more info, visit www.thewappingproject.com