Ralph is wearing a v-neck striped cotton vest and vintage cotton shirt from Costume Studio. Checked oversized trousers by Marni. And scotch grain leather belt by Crockett & Jones.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
AnOther Way to Wear a Christmas Jumper
Photographer Jori Komulainen and stylist Nicola Neri give a lesson in alternative seasonal dressing
Lead ImageRalph is wearing a v-neck striped cotton vest and vintage cotton shirt from Costume Studio. Checked oversized trousers by Marni. And scotch grain leather belt by Crockett & Jones.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
The holiday season is upon us and with it, the annual Christmas jumpers phenomenon, whereby Britons take it upon themselves to find and wear the ugliest festive sweater humanly possible. It’s a trend that can be dated back to the 1980s, when singers such as Andy Williams and Val Doonican would appear on television Christmas specials wearing such cursed jumpers. Four decades and one Bridget Jones film later, and they’re as much a part of the British festive season as mince pies.
But Christmas jumpers don’t have to be a sad lumpy affair, made from acrylic and festooned with festive motifs. They can even – honestly! – be nice, as exhibited in this shoot by the photographer Jori Komulainen and stylist Nicola Neri. Here, we see a retro sweatshirt by Martine Rose x Farah and a sumptuous V-neck vest by Costume Studio, along with an intricately embroidered woolly jumper by Stefan Cooke and a stripey number by Gucci. Take it as proof: Christmas and chic don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Koshin is wearing an oversized wool coat and viscose shirt by Coach. Vintage argyle wool vest from Costume Studio. Belted cotton trousers with front pleats by Jil Sander by Lucie and Luke Meier. And necklace by Emily Frances Barrett.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Ralph is wearing a tartan wool coat and side-stripe gabardine trousers with detachable stirrup by Prada. Cotton polo-shirt and jacquard mock-sweater wool pacha scarf by Martine Rose x Farah. And stylist’s own leather belt.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Arthur is wearing a half-zip cotton sweatshirt by Martine Rose x Farah. Heart-print cotton-poplin shirt by Marni from MatchesFashion. Denim jeans by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. And stylist’s own leather belt.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Bolu is wearing a belted double-breasted gabardine coat and ribbed zip-up wool collar by Kenzo. Cotton shirt (worn underneath) by Hermés. And windowpane-check wool-blend trousers by Wales Bonner from MatchesFashion.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Louis is wearing a slashed floral embroidered wool jumper by Stefan Cooke. Silk shirt (worn underneath) by Jil Sander by Lucie and Luke Meier. Silver chain necklace with cigarette butt and resin pendant by Emily Frances Barrett.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Reza is wearing a striped wool jumper and pleated wool trousers by Gucci. Long-sleeved striped jersey polo-shirt by Ahluwalia.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Viking is wearing a cotton canvas trench coat by Dior. Quilted padded blazer by Woolrich. Vintage striped cotton shirt from Costume Studio. Pinstripe wool trousers by Anthony Vaccarello by Saint Laurent. Silk tie by Prada.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Viking is wearing coat, blazer, shirt and tie as before.Photography by Jori Komulainen, Styling Nicola Neri
Hair and grooming: Tom Wright. Models: Ralph Akhigbe and Aren Heckett Plante at Anti Agency, Koshin Nasib at Named Models, Reza Shipkolye at XDirectn, Arthur Soames at 777 Casting and Bolu Talabi at Youth Models. Street Casting: Louis Gardner and Viking Stendahl by Julie WL. Photographic assistant: Terry Broadbent. Hair assistant: Tasos Constantinou and Daniel Moura.