Behind the Scenes of the series. Shot at Midnight in December 2020 during lockdown in Piccadilly, London.

Edgy upcycled fashion designer Meihui Liu magically concocted three beautiful and unique outfits styled by acclaimed international stylist Ann Shore, all of which loosely referenced ballet performances which Prima ballerina Michela Meazza has regularly performed in with her dance company, New Adventures, which is run and choreographed by the one and only Matthew Bourne. The idea behind the three looks were universal themes of love and passion, obsession and possession, a perfect combined ode to Valentine’s day!”

In the first instance, Michela wore a bright red design referencing Red Shoes, and I photographed this graceful, present and majestic ballerina smack in the heart of an eerily empty Piccadilly Circus. Michela continued her euphoric dance, wearing a second design by Meihui, in the form of a ribbon-adorned Victorian Punk, black and white design referencing Swan Lake. This session I shot underneath the arches of The Ritz and on the side street of the hotel under drizzling skies.”

The third shoot, an interpretation of Cinderella, was going to take place on the Mall with Buckingham Palace as our backdrop. By the time we had reached Lower Regent Street behind the ICA, looking up towards St James, three police officers abruptly stopped us, asking us to stop and put down our equipment and questioning whether what we were doing was considered essential!”

Our common goal was simple: friendship and connectivity through creativity – essential attributes which makes us human in my mind. It was also about the creation of something ultimately beautiful and hopeful to be enjoyed and shared with the wider public at an unprecedented moment in history where such matters have clearly and most unfortunately taken a second row positioning. And what about daily exercise and mobility, as recommended by the government? The only difference was that we chose to do it at night.”

Of course, this was not essential work if they were comparing our creative work to that of the medical field, but it certainly felt (very) essential for each and every one of us, as far as our mental well-being was and is concerned, not to mention the pleasure in regaining spontaneous creative freedom, if only for a short moment in time. We were all wearing our masks. We were all socially-distanced.”