Against a backdrop of the bland everyday, Anders Edström and Karen Langley showcase the most urbane of A/W17 fashions
“I wanted to make something dry and slow. Something that relates to the way I take pictures,” photographer Anders Edström explains of his powerfully procrastinative film. Wandering only a stone’s throw from his home in Stockholm, Edström mused on the intermediary spaces that stud a routine walk through the city. The result is Georgiana, Jay and Laura – named after the three models in front of the lens. It’s an airy musing on modern glamour and fashion’s current penchant for the perfunctory, the street, the ordinary.
“Anders’ work is an exceptional exploration of the banal,” Karen Langley explains. “Each time we shoot it’s a fine balance between being precise and meditative but also laugh-out-loud funny. This film is a great example of that. It makes no sense while making complete sense. It’s ugly while being strangely beautiful.” Edström’s precision sets a clear and cold tone for his work and such exactitude can appear almost arbitrary, as his explanation of his process belies: “Ideally the last shot would be in front of the same wall as the stills were taken, but I thought it would be impossible. I told Robin, my assistant, that the only way it could be done was if there would be two trucks parked along that same road. It seemed very unlikely. However, the next day when we drove past the wall, there were two trucks parked, perfectly placed.” But of course, his approach infuses his work with his very singular vision, entrancing in its repetitive patterns and undulating mood. “It’s always a real pleasure to encourage and indulge Anders’ eccentricities, and adopt them as my own each time we work together,” explains Langley. “His eye is so authentically his.”
Make-up: Anya de Tobon at Link Details using Chanel. Models: Laura Hanson Sims and Georgiana Zloteanu at Elite London, and Jay Jankowska at The Hive Management. Casting: Noah Shelley at AM Casting. Photographic assistants: Nils Edström and Robin Rådenman. Styling assistants: Tara Greville, Taylor Rose Walsh and Sunnie Fraser. Grooming assistant: Moona Narancic. Production: Artistry.
This story originally featured in the Autumn/Winter 2017 issue of AnOther Magazine on sale now.