shashasha

A documentation of the British Army ceremonial troops through the eyes of a fashion photographer

In 2006, acclaimed fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan spent a month capturing the ceremonial soldiers of the British Army for a magazine assignment, and published the expanded series in this photobook in 2016. McLellan’s images, verging between portraiture and documentation, capture the details and import of their uniforms as well as the soldiers wearing them, accompanying them into their private living spaces and off-duty as they groom their horses. The series is an open testament to the appeal McLellan sees in the traditional uniforms and the values they embody, as well as the centuries of history that went into their colors and design.

“You can imagine that this is what Ralph Lauren has always dreamed Britain to be like; the barking of dogs, the clip-clopping of horses, the gleaming silverware, royal thank-you notes on the walls and awfully kind and polite people. Of course, we know that by and large Britain is not like this now—and somehow doubt if it ever really was like this at all. Yet it most definitely is like this here, an affirmation that a time actually did exist in the past when such things went on, and what we are witnessing now isn’t just for show.” (from Jo-Ann Furniss’ introductory essay)