Category

Portrait

Location

London Uk

Gear

Leica Q2 Monochrom

Description

I encountered Sophia sitting on a bench by the Thames in London. Looking at her I was struck by a sense of a free spirit and immediately wanted to photograph and know more about her. I almost passed her by but my girlfriend had sensed the same so we went back to talk to her. Sophie grew up with little money in the Belgian countryside, near a forest, with a Belgian father and a Spanish mother. As a child, she made clothes for her dolls. She cherished her treasure chest full of costumes that her mother had imagined and created together as mother and daughter. “I started writing at the age of 14 about racism because I was constantly angered by the remarks I heard every day.” Sophie’s mother passed away from cancer in her arms six years ago, and she felt a need to avoid thinking about her personal grief and instead contextualize it on a larger scale. Using university as a lifeline, she studied anthropology in Brussels. She then moved to Spain to learn more about her and her mother’s heritage. Reconnecting with her through the language, landscapes and Spanish people. “Through my thesis, I bridged the gap between texture and my commitment to human respect and revolutionary ideas.” Today, in London she is voluntarily learning from Fashion Act Now. Together, they are building a database that will catalog European and UK artisans and local communities working with textiles in traditional, collective, and sustainable ways. Rethinking and questioning the role of fashion in a degrowth society. “This is exactly where I belong right now”

Photographer

Paul Reid

Social Media

Instagram: @paulreidphotography

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