Whilst at PYMCA I was involved in several research projects for high profile brands including Schuh, Fred Perry, Dr. Martens, Ben Sherman, Levi’s, Nike, Topshop and Carnaby London. The projects focused on brand heritage and the associations with youth culture, music and fashion throughout the decades.
Schuh – 30 Years of Expression
Visit the Schuh Website
PYMCA was commissioned to come up with an interactive timeline of events covering landmarks in music, film, fashion, subcultures, sport, technology and social and political events that have shaped popular culture over the last 30 years. I managed a team of three people in researching all the events and licensing images from all over the web. The author Ted Polhemus was commissioned to write a short synopsis for each one.
Fred Perry Subculture
PYMCA researched images and worked with Fred Perry on different projects for its 60th Anniversary, including Five Decades of Fred Perry and Subculture films by Don Letts
Street Style by Ted Polhemus
“Street style is my sartorial bible” – Chloe Sevigny in The New York Times.
“Without the Hipsters, Teddy Boys, Beats, Rockabillies, Rude Boys, Mods, Surfers, Hippies, Punks, B-Boys, Ravers, Harajuku Girls – and all the other streetstyle originals – most of us would be left without anything to wear. But the sharp suits, leather jackets, jeans, kaftans, flares, DMs, slick locks and so forth are only the visible, tangible part of this legacy. Oozing through the clothes, hairstyles, make-up and accessories is an attitude. An attitude which perhaps more than any other set the tone of life in the second half of the twentieth century and which shows no sign of dissipating in the twenty-first.”
In 2010 PYMCA re-published an new and updated version of the classic style bible by Ted Polhemus. I worked as a researcher and main picture editor and managed the image budget. The book uses images from the original version which had to to be re-sourced plus the licensing of brand new shots.
First published by Thames & Hudson in 1994, the fully updated edition features nearly 100 extra pages with a four page bound insert, 5 new chapters, including over 250 compelling images.
Unordinary People by PYMCA
In 2009 PYMCA was approached by The Royal Albert Hall to exhibit as part of its Reflect series. Accompanying the show was a limited edition book. Unordinary People charts the history of British youth culture from 1960 to 2009.
James Lange | Photography | Picture Editing | Research 