Urban spirit

Young actors, musicians, and a photogenic school girl team up with Arnotts and photographer Perry Ogden to showcase summer's prints, checks and stripes, writes DEIRDRE MCQUILLAN

THESE FORMAL portraits of young Irish people, stars of the forthcoming poster campaign for Arnotts, mark a novel promotional step for the Irish department store. Taken by acclaimed Dublin-based artist and photographer Perry Ogden – who lives on Capel Street, a stone’s throw from the store – they capture in their own quiet, yet direct, way the modern Irish urban spirit. The images will be prominently displayed in city centre locations in coming weeks.

“We have so many up-and-coming actors and actresses,” says Ogden, “and they lend something more to the campaign than just pretty faces. There is no one idea of beauty and I wanted to use real faces rather than models. Concentrating on the faces gives them character.

“I was concerned that they were happy with their outfits, that they felt good in them before I photographed them. This is not about bling, but about being cool, edgy and simple. I like things that are understated and not overblown,” he says.

Ogden's fashion photography has featured in innumerable magazines worldwide including Italian Vogue, L'Uomo Vogue, Arena, Wand The Faceand he has shot advertising campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Chloé and Calvin Klein.

Many of his more personal projects have had Irish themes, such as Pony Kids, his images from the Smithfield Horse Fair published in 1999, and his award-winning film Pavee Lackeenabout Travellers. The meticulous photographic record of the entire contents of Francis Bacon's studio and subsequent book, 7 Reece Mews: Francis Bacon's Studio, documenting the enterprise was a professional highlight.

For Nigel Blow of Arnotts, getting Ogden on board was something of a coup. “As a business, we have grown in confidence and felt ready to do something like this from a fashion perspective. It’s a way of focusing on the brands we have now and how we have moved on. Perry and I have known each other for a few years and share the same understanding of the approach. We wanted to make a fuss and do something special.”