I knew from the word “go” that a shoot with Brett Anderson from Suede had great potential. He has always been a man of style. From his glam days as a lead singer in Suede until today, he’s stayed true to his cool image. Although a little toned down now from his younger days, his skinny jeans and sleek look is still a strong look. So, when deciding how to shoot Brett I was determined to move away from stereotypical “male imagery” and brought in pink, pink and more pink. I made an educated guess that he’d be wearing black and if anyone could make pink overload work, then it would be Brett. Brett famously described himself as “a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience” - so the femininity that is traditionally, (and I emphasise the word ‘traditionally’) associated with pink would surely pass.
I also chose to have a second setup playing with lots of different colour gel, an idea I had, giving a visual nod towards the late 80’s and the glam period that saw Suede at their biggest.
Brett came in to the room and didn’t flinch at the big pink backdrop and pink chair. He introduced himself with confidence and introduced a small selection of outfits. Brett was engaged in the image process and showed great interest in the images. Not in a critical and disapproving way, but agreed with the direction and let me know his own favourites.
Great man to work with, bringing both style and character to the shoot.
Observer New Review
