(Styled by Bay Garnett, photographs by Venetia Scott, model Georgia May Jagger. Hair by Tomo Jidai. Make-up, Sharon Dowsett. Production, 10-4 Inc. Location: Great Dixter, East Sussex. Digital artwork, Ben Pickett at Touch. Click on/tap images for captions and gallery view.)
After the particularly glittery, jet-black, dark-star vibe of Hallowe’en 2013 (thanks to Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton SS14 and to the last-minute make-up suggestions of Harper’s Bazaar and Into The Gloss), returning to the ‘Dream a little dream’ editorial in Vogue UK’s October 2013 issue seems a breath of fresh air in more ways than one.
Shot on location in the gardens of Great Dixter, East Sussex, by Venetia Scott whose work has inspired for many years (and to whom I will return in future posts), ‘Dream a little dream’ captures the innocent insouciance of dreamy October days, those days which surprise with their warmth and mists… in this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. The editorial story begins: ‘The winsome heroines of Victorian literature inspire the romantic return of opulent, feminine pieces that will continue to tell stories for seasons to come.’
The pieces featured certainly have a timeless quality, as does Georgia May Jagger here, thanks to Bay Garnett’s styling (which often has a quietly bohemian quality), and Jagger’s own inner resolve, with her hair slightly mussed, and the unselfconscious air of a girl who has had to amuse herself and fill her hours in this garden, with flowers and her white horse for company, and if the first image is anything to go by, a longing for life beyond the garden walls.
Hands in pockets (a very modern pose), looking off to the right and out of the frame, she is inaccessible, apparently lost in her thoughts, as Victorian literary heroines often are. She is mostly captured in moments of restfulness but more than capable of action (running through a field in a Valentino silk-chiffon dress for example); is perfectly at home amongst the flower-filled meadows and orchards and yet yearns for something more.
A gorgeous editorial, it is also refreshing for its discretion, its mix of innocence and knowingness: Jagger’s heroine mostly ignoring the viewer (appearing lost in thought, entranced by her surroundings or the company of her clearly beloved horse) and only in one remarkable shot gazing out of the frame, directly to us, through iris heads, in an image of Indian-summer laziness, both candid and sensuous in its soft-focus. In this image we see the woman in the girl.
The strength of the shoot means that we can imagine our heroine jettisoning her precious wardrobe and setting off on her horse on an adventure, hoping one day to return to her home; to the cherished garden and her favourite coats and dresses as pictured here; but she is not a girl to be bound by them.
The images are grouped in pairs sharing similar tones; the opening grey-blue early-morning misty garden (1 and 2); the blue-accented shots of orchard and flower-filled meadow (3 and 4); the rose-inflected sense of time standing still while the heroine looks up the path for something or someone and stands in the rose garden (5 and 6); the white and gold fields (7 and 8); the dark navy and purple-iris notes of images 9 and 10; and the white, gold and blue-grey of images 11 and 12.
Ending with the carefree radiance of a sun-warmed smile, lying amongst the oversized daisies in Dries Van Noten’s floral patterned duster coat (the caption references William Morris’s first print, ‘Daisy’ from 1864), this is a girl who is at one with, and at one with wearing, her flowers. And, we have little doubt, is about to experience life’s beauty beyond the garden walls.
What do you wear for a walk in the garden or park? And would this inspire you to add a little Victoriana to your look?
A la prochaine, bisou!
Sinéad
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From top, left to right: flocked wool-mix coat, Emporio Armani. Cotton/silk dress, Giles. Vintage cluster brooch, Ting’s, at Gray’s Antique Market.
Organza blouse, Lanvin. Denim skirt, Ashish, at Browns Focus. Wool belt, Luisa Beccaria. Leather brogues, Bally. Printed silk dress, Rochas. Vintage lace blouse, Elizabeth Avey. Resin and crystal ring, Miriam Salat.
Silk coat, Louis Vuitton. Embroidered silk-chiffon blouse, Alberta Ferretti. Silk/cotton shirt, Claire Barrow. Vintage ribbon belt, Elizabeth Avey. Lace dress, stretch satin bra, satin knickers, all Dolce & Gabbana. Pearl pendant necklace, Laura Lee Jewellery.
Cotton blouse, Chloé. Wool-lace skirt, Eudon Choi.Wool belt, as before.Crystal Brooch, Linda Bee, Gray’s Antique Market. Vintage brogues, from a selection, Vestiairecollective.com. Silk-chiffon dress, Valentino.
Embroidered silk/wool coat, Céline. Wool/cotton blouse, Paul & Joe. Wool belt, as before. Coin pendant necklace, from Laura Lee Jewellery. Lace shirt, Paul & Joe. Silk skirt, Rochas. Vintage brogues, as before.
Patchwork lace dress with peplum, Alexandra Rich, at Selfridges. Wool/alpaca coat, Dries Van Noten. Lace dress, Emilio Pucci. Coin pendant necklace and pearl necklace, as before.
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