JITROIS CAMPAIGN AUTUMN/WINTER 2012

The Jitrois Autumn/Winter campaign that we shot at Aynhoe Park with Rankin has been released. My unbiased opinion is that it is stunning. I had a lot of fun along with Rankins producers coming up with the story (see below), and to spend the day on set in such an incredible location was fascinating, if not a little distracting. I must have snapped hundreds of photos of taxidermy animals in hats & stuffed pythons. Nadine Ponce is the face that inspired my narrative - she has such a powerful, unique look and I know she will go far.For Autumn/Winter 2012-2013, long-time collaborator Rankin turns his lens upon four mischievous heroes at sophisticated play... This game of seduction, an idea at the heart of the D.N.A. of Jitrois, is played out by a selection of characters evoking a 1920s country house mystery tale of the like of Agatha Christie: Masha Voronina, a listless Socialite; Chris Doe, a manipulative Narcissus; Tuuli Shipster, a Charming Blonde feigning innocence but playing Judas. The enigmatic Artist, Nadine Ponce, cuts an insouciant and androgynous figure, bringing a wave of modernity and sparking a dark, romantic revolution. With the arrival of The Artist comes a new, enlightened mood, more Bloomsbury Group than Bright Young Things. Standing against bourgeois rituals and for shared ideas and shared love, the revolution shakes up the house of carefully laid-out cards, and some are revealed to be as intrinsically still and cold as the statues around them. Our characters move through a labyrinthine mansion, a formidable character in itself played excellently by Aynhoe Park. Filled with objects and curios, this esoteric setting harks back to the age of Le Grand Tour and represents the conservative moral and artistic codes of the last two millennia. In juxtaposition, dramatic tableaux of lovers are cast in the Orangerie.Rich tones of ruby noir and midnight purple create a sumptuous, jewel-like colour palette, while smocked leather, crochet detailing and golden embroideries evoke a textural tapestry. Both complement the eccentric and diverse fabric of this incredible environ. Around the piano, hyper-feminine stretch leather evening gowns are juxtaposed against the androgynous tailoring favoured by The Artist. The latter, imbibed with a devastating power of seduction, dominates any love triangle. In Jitrois, three is a beautiful crowd. In Jitrois, three is a beautiful crowd.