Playing Dress Up

We Brits seem to be obsessed with dressing up. Fashion aside, we have pioneered some die hard identities: Punk, Goth, New Romantics... okay I’ll stop. But whenever the dress code of a party stipulates Fancy Dress, there is a panic among the invited guests, accompanied by furious complaining. Then, when people arrive at the event it is so exciting to see what everyone is wearing. And somehow the resistance is part of it. In these situations my dress code has always been to dress as a boy. I look much better in boys clothes and they have influenced my work and my approach to life since I was a child. One of my favourite scenes ever in a film is from Louis Malle’s ‘Viva Maria’ with Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau. BB starts off dressed as a young revolutionary boy in a blue and white striped t-shirt, a tweed flat cap which she pulls off - and out tumbles that familiar cascade of And God Created Woman blonde hair. Her charm as a boy makes her even more desirable as a girl.
This photograph is from the launch party for the cult lingerie brand Agent Provocateur. I knew I couldn’t compete in the cleavage and femininity department (especially standing next to the gorgeous and voluptuous Sue Tilley) so I donned a moustache and some of my best spivvy tailoring. It felt good, and I had a great time.