Nov 14, 2016

Knitted camouflage - twins, hipsters and a dog in a coat

This piece of personal work is the fruit of an on-going collaboration with knitting genius Nina Dodd. For the last year and a half she has been crafting fine knitwear for our shoots, allowing us to marry jumpers with patterned backgrounds.

For this image we were lucky enough to work with Parisian twins Mady & Monette Malroux, thanks to the wonderful casting director, Sophy Mirti. The sisters have lived together all their lives. They dress identically and do absolutely everything together.

It was a strange experience, working with a pair who are so closely bonded. We talked while I photographed them, and they explained that while others find it odd that they share such intrinsically linked lives, they feel sorry for people who are 'singular', as they describe people who aren't twins.

They complete each other's sentences and always speak of 'we', 'us'. When they shop they buy two of everything. Their movements are synchronised: one will reach for something on a table, and the other will do the same. There is a slight but noticeable difference in character: one is more jokey, the other slightly more acerbic.

As Mady and Monette were dressing, they acted as their own mirrors. Monette tried on her sweater while Mady admired the effect. As they put on their tulle tutus one of them commented 'We love them'. No need to ask her sister, she already knew that they would both feel the same way.

This sort of encounter is one of the things I feel most grateful for in my work as a photographer.

I shot this cinemagraph in Brighton with a lovely model, Malik Tokwe. Nina spent several months making this jumper, which was massively complicated by the variety of shades and colours on the wall and by the small size of the squares.

Venus the dog was more than happy to put on this warm coat on a cold spring day and rummage around in a shrub for this picture:

Many thanks to Jimmy and to the Brighton & Hove Bus Company who allowed us to borrow a bus for the afternoon for this shot:

Heartfelt thanks to the many people who worked hard to make this series work:

Above all, of course, Nina Dodd. If you need anything knitted (and I do mean anything), she should be your first port of call.

Styling: Sébastien Goepfert
Casting: Sophy Mirti
Hair & makeup: Julie Camus
Retouching & grading: Additive & Asile
Models: Mady & Monette Malroux, Jimmy Bear Face, Yalie, Venus the dog, Malik Tokwe
Assistants: Nicolas Scordia, Tom Cole Simmonds
Studio: La Plateform

More jumpers are being knitted as we speak and there'll be more pictures on the way soon... click here to see more photographs of people in the meantime.

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Cette série est née d'un collaboration avec une amie qui tricote, Nina Dodd. Depuis un an et demi je repère des lieux qui me plaisent et elle crée des pulls qui permettent aux mannequins de se mêler avec le fond.

Grâce à la merveilleuse Sophy Mirti, directrice de casting, j'ai eu le grand plaisir de travailler avec Mady et Monette Malroux, jumelles parisiennes.

Elles vivent ensemble, s'habillent pareil, font tout ensemble. Pendant qu'on travaillait on a parlé de leur vie. Il est rare de travailler avec deux personnes si étroitement liées mais pour elles ce qui est curieux c'est le fait d'être « singulier », « unique », leur façon de décrire les gens qui ne sont pas jumeaux.

L'une commence une phrase, l'autre la termine. Leurs mouvements se synchronise : quand Mady pose son verre Monette fait de même.

Lors de l'essayage de stylisme, pas de miroir. Monette a essayé son pull et Mady a confirmé qu'il lui allait bien. « Nous les adorons » a dit Monette en mettant son tutu. Nul besoin de demander à sa soeur, elle savait déjà qu'elles étaient d'accord.

J'ai ressenti une grande tendresse pour Mady et Monette ; cette rencontre a été une des plus belles de ma carrière de photographe.

Stylisme : Sébastien Goepfert
Casting : Sophy Mirti
Maquillage et coiffure : Julie Camus
Retouches : Additive & Asile
Mannequins : Mady & Monette Malroux, Jimmy Bear Face, Yalie, Venus le chien, Malik Tokwe
Assistants : Nicolas Scordia, Tom Cole Simmonds
Studio : La Plateform

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