AnOther Way to Wear a Christmas Jumper

The holiday season is upon us and with it, the annual Christmas jumpers phenomenon, whereby Britons take it upon themselves to find and wear the ugliest festive sweater humanly possible. It’s a trend that can be dated back to the 1980s, when singers such as Andy Williams and Val Doonican would appear on television Christmas specials wearing such cursed jumpers. Four decades and one Bridget Jones film later, and they’re as much a part of the British festive season as mince pies.

But Christmas jumpers don’t have to be a sad lumpy affair, made from acrylic and festooned with festive motifs. They can even – honestly! – be nice, as exhibited in this shoot by the photographer Jori Komulainen and stylist Nicola Neri. Here, we see a retro sweatshirt by Martine Rose x Farah and a sumptuous V-neck vest by Costume Studio, along with an intricately embroidered woolly jumper by Stefan Cooke and a stripey number by Gucci. Take it as proof: Christmas and chic don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Hair and grooming: Tom Wright. Models: Ralph Akhigbe and Aren Heckett Plante at Anti Agency, Koshin Nasib at Named Models, Reza Shipkolye at XDirectn, Arthur Soames at 777 Casting and Bolu Talabi at Youth Models. Street Casting: Louis Gardner and Viking Stendahl by Julie WL. Photographic assistant: Terry Broadbent. Hair assistant: Tasos Constantinou and Daniel Moura.