Fashion & Contrast: Halesworth Edition

At the heart of Elegant Exposures is a simple belief: fashion becomes powerful when it interacts with place, light, and attitude. This project, photographed in the early hours of a quiet morning in Halesworth, Suffolk, brought together two contrasting looks on model Sophia—each exploring identity, elegance, and theatricality through the lens of location.

This shoot is part of an ongoing creative collaboration between photographer Bob Foyers, stylist Sue Hardy, and Sophia—an evolving series rooted in storytelling and visual experimentation. You can also read the full post over at Foyers Photography.

Scene One: Androgyny in Tailcoats

The first look, styled with a crisp white shirt, cropped trousers, top hat, and a black tailcoat, was a playful nod to the androgynous fashion portraiture of Helmut Newton. Confident yet composed, Sophia’s presence in this ensemble turned Halesworth’s Georgian streets and alleyways into an improvised stage. The inclusion of a walking cane added both humour and strength.

This styling allowed for subtle narrative gestures—postures that communicated something between defiance and wit. It was a celebration of gender-fluid fashion, delivered with elegance and a knowing smile.

Scene Two: Red Silk, Rough Walls

The second look flipped the tone. A deep scarlet satin dress, styled with vintage heels and ornate earrings, shifted the energy into something more cinematic. The contrast between fabric and location played a central role. Shot in alleyways, tunnels, and outside local buildings, the dress glowed against stone, concrete, and morning shadow.

Where the first set relied on structure, the second embraced softness, movement, and colour. The red dress acted almost like a character in its own right—dramatic, unapologetic, and timeless.

A Creative Collaboration in Motion

Halesworth, with its quiet charm and layers of texture, offered the perfect backdrop for this dual exploration. Its streets provided us with contrast and character—two essential ingredients in this shoot. Huge thanks to The Black Dog Deli for letting us use their space for the closing café portraits.

This project was about contrast: masculinity and femininity, tailoring and fluidity, glamour and grit. These images exist in dialogue—with the past, with fashion’s future, and with the town they were shot in.