My second non street project came when I was invited by my friend Ben, someone I’d got to know online as a fellow fan of classic American clothes and style, invited me to shoot some images of the legendary John Rushton, the last independent purveyor of classic mens shoes left in London’s West End.
I’ve known John since the late 80s when he was still in the movie business and watched as over the years he came to be the most knowledgeable shoe store owner in the UK. For the last 11 years firmly ensconced just behind Oxford Street, John’s store is a mecca for aficionados of classic mens shoes and unique in its offering.
Ben wanted to write a piece for his company website at Herb Lester Associates about John and the shop and I thought it would be interesting to shoot candid stuff as I would street but for a more structured piece. We were fortunate too in that local face Gordon Millings had popped in for a regular chat. Gordon and his dad Douggie were the tailors to the Beatles, Rolling Stones and pretty much everyone else in those days. (Ben later sent me this link to a British Pathe newsreel clip about the Millings and their pop clientele).
The piece Ben did is here and there are more images from the shoot on flickr
Ben is currently working on a map of 60s London featuring the clothes stores, discos, bars and other key landmarks of pop history in Soho from 1960-66
Garson in Guardian Web Pick of the Week
Good to see one of my enjoyable jaunts with the estimable Herb Lester (this time to iconic John Simons store in Chiltern St) has made it into the Guardian’s Internet Pick of the Week. As Kang Londoneater pointed out, ironic that it was a colour image they featured as I can count the number of colour images I’ve shot on one hand.