London Fashion Week A/W19

I hadn't expected to shoot London Fashion Week. It was autumn 2019, and a last-minute backstage pass came through for London Fashion Week AW19. I had maybe five minutes to grab my kit and get across London. No time to overthink it, no time to plan, just go.

Standing backstage for the first time, surrounded by the beautiful chaos of one of fashion's biggest events, I made a snap decision: shoot everything in black and white. Not because black and white is more "artistic" (though I love it). But because the real story wasn't about the colours of the collections or the perfect runway lighting. It was about the energy, the madness, the humanity of bringing a creative vision to life under incredible pressure. My goal was to disappear into the background and just flit and float between the crew.

Fashion week backstage is nothing like the polished runway shots you see in magazines. It's scheduled chaos. Models rushing between looks, half-dressed and half-made-up. Designers making last-second tweaks to garments with literal minutes to go. Makeup artists working at lightning speed. Stylists with armfuls of accessories sprinting between stations. Everyone running on pure adrenaline and creative urgency.

I didn't want posed shots. I didn't want to ask people to "do that again but look at the camera." I wanted to capture what was actually happening, the moments between the moments, the real faces behind the fashion. Black and white let me do that. It stripped away the distraction of colour and focused everything on movement, emotion, and energy. The concentrated expressions. The flying fabric. The organised chaos of people at the top of their game working together under pressure.

That day at London Fashion Week taught me something I already suspected: the best work often comes from saying yes to unexpected opportunities and then trusting your creative instincts completely. You don't always get time to plan. Sometimes you just have to make a strong creative decision and commit to it. It's the same approach I bring to all my work now, whether I'm producing social content campaigns for brands like ManyPets, shooting documentary projects like Canteen Frome, or creating editorial photography across Cornwall and Somerset.

Based in Somerset but working regularly in London, I love the energy of the city's creative industry. Fashion week was a masterclass in fast-paced, high-pressure creative work—and honestly, that's when I'm at my best. If you're planning a fashion event, brand activation, or campaign in London and need someone who can adapt quickly, make strong creative decisions, and capture the real story behind your project, I'd love to work with you. View the full London Fashion Week collection here.

Want to work together on your next project? Get in touch.