1. TUP142
In Conversation with Venetia Scott
There are few rocks within fashion’s 21st century elite that glory in unrefinement, maintaining their outsider reputations,
nursing connections to the anti-establishment and to rebellion of the sort that isn’t manufactured by a roundtable of de-
signers and editors with agendas to push and dollar bills to collect. Venetia Scott is one of these gems, a true rarity of near
mythical status. A figurehead of the revolution that stormed London in the early ‘90s, which democratized fashion and
disabled its hierarchy, she is as honest and authentic as such a history could elicit. Her styling work, photography, and in-
terviews reveal a frankness that is unusual in fashion and consumer society. In an age when self-marketing is as key to the
relevancy of a fashion career as the actual work produced, in which drug use is still touted as a societal marker of rebellion,
Scott eschews social media, considering meditative time a signifier of modern counterculture.
Venetia Scott
NATURALIST PROJECT - SCOTT
text by Madison Stephens
portrait & photography Venetia Scott
publication:WMAGAZINEmodel:ANNAEWERS
photographer:VENETIASCOTTstylist:POPPYKAIN

2. TUP 143
top:Vintage Pucci
MS: You’re somewhat of an elusive character. Aside
from a few notable interviews, you’ve largely stayed
in the background. Twenty years ago this was the
norm, but this sense of mystery has become increas-
ingly rare when so many in fashion choose to be more
recognizable (and often valued) for their social me-
dia and street personas than for their work. Of note: I
couldn’t find your Instagram account. Did I not look
hard enough? Is mystery important to you, or is it an
accidental reaction to the self-promotion that many
other fashion influencers are inclined towards? Is it
just what feels natural to you?
VS: My lack of engagement with social media is not an
intention, just a lack of interest in it. I have been tempt-
ed to take up Instagram, but think it might turn into a
monster that needs constant feeding and attention.
MS: How did you become interested in fashion and
creating images, what’s your background? How did it
lead you to your first job at British Vogue?
VS: I went to a very dreary boarding school from a
young age, which probably fueled my imagination.
Since I was 13, I wanted to work in the fashion room
of Vogue.
MS: After you left Vogue, you found a footing in the
anti-establishment. This so-called “fashion origin
story” resonated with me as you seemed to find your
niche in the deconstruction of the hierarchy, of the
unraveling of fashion as this institution of good taste.
What made you rebel against it all? Did you have a
support group of other contemporaries feeling the
same sense of revolution?
VS: I think it was less of a rebellion than a newfound
sense of freedom from institutions. I enjoyed being free-
lance and not having to toe the line, I enjoyed the lev-
eling out of hierarchy. It was an exciting time and felt as
if we were shaking up established formulas and letting
in some fresh air.
MS: I think it’s hard for the current generation to
understand that before this movement, fashion was
strict and exclusive, that there were rules and that
they were not to be broken. We all know that Comme
des Garcons and Margiela shook things up with black
and with subversion, but I don’t think we fully ap-
preciate that at that point, fashion equated to a label
and a trend and about fitting an exact mold that was

3. matched by a Trinity of supermodels and that that
was it, that was beauty and it was almost the end of
the discussion. Today we have Tumblr and everyone
can learn the ins and outs of a subculture without
leaving their parents’ living room, and that’s the basis
for material and products that are “cool” and market-
able now, which is a complete 180 from the period
you entered fashion in. Can you explain exactly what
anarchy was then, what it meant, and how it was re-
ceived? How did it translate in editorial? Were you
and your collaborators aware of the impact of what
you were creating?
VS: There was a sense of challenging the idea of beauty
and introducing people who had a sense of fragility,
freedom, imperfection; an empowerment, which had
nothing to do with status symbols. Eighties’ fashion
prior to this had touted the untouchable, polished,
uber model and the new aesthetic broke this down and
pushed characterizations that you could touch and em-
pathise with. They were free of materialism. In terms of
editorial, it did not go hand in hand with advertising
at that point, so we were able to shoot young designers
and introduce vintage clothing, which gave a reality to
the pictures. The Face, Arena, and i-D gave us the pages
to express what we wanted and not compromise. There
was an exciting movement going on in London. The
teams involved were working independently, but had a
common thread, which was to alter the ideal..
“
“I don’t feel I have to
fight, but I do have a
constant battle with
myself as to whether
work is good enough
or as good as it can
be.”
publication: ANOTHER MAGAZINE
photographer and stylist: VENETIA SCOTT
Model: CAROLINE TRENTINI

4. TUP 145
MS: What was your aesthetic, who was your girl (or
boy)? What did you imagine for the stories you were
creating, where was it sourced?
VS: My girl (or boy) is the same now as then. Bold, open,
warm, not too self controlled, and ready to work. The
source could be movies, stories, photographs, memo-
ries, nature and people I meet.
MS: You’ve said your original work’s goal was “to con-
vey the spirit of somebody.” So much of fashion re-
volves around illusion and becoming an ideal rather
than celebrating an individual for what and who they
actually are. How were you able to meet your goal,
what was the process like? How has it changed, and
how do you see it evolving in the future?
VS: ‘The spirit of somebody’ might be a fictitious some-
body that I have thought up. I need a subject who will be
open and willing to understand, project and collaborate.
Nothing has changed for me in this process.
MS: After the fashion backlash out of London was co-
opted and commercialized into an advertised move-
ment, did you move on, or did you feel pigeonholed
into a certain aesthetic? I can imagine that would feel
somewhat heartbreaking if you felt invested in it as
anarchic.
VS: Ideas or images that are interesting have a tendency
to be adopted into the mainstream. This pushes you to
explore other territory, which moves things forward.
MS: Was your first big sort of (I hate to call it this,
but) “I made it” moment the Marc Jacobs contract, or
did it come earlier? Fashion can be so competitive- do
you feel like you still have to fight to stay on top of
your game?
VS: I have never really been interested in a career trajec-
tory, but the Marc Jacobs contract came at a good time
and continued for 14 years. I’m competitive with myself,
not with other people. I don’t feel I have to fight, but I do
have a constant battle with myself as to whether work is
good enough or as good as it can be.
top clockwise
publication:
SELF SERVICE
model:
MELISSA BELL
photographer & stylist:
VENETIA SCOTT
publication:
ANOTHER MAGAZINE
photographer & stylist:
VENETIA SCOTT
model:
HILARY RHODA
publication:
BRITISH VOGUE
photographer
VENETIA SCOTT
stylist:
BAY GARNETT
model:
GEORGIA MAY JAGGER

5. TUP 146
MS: You’re now focused on photography. Did you get
tired of styling, or did you become disillusioned with
that aspect of fashion? How did the switch happen,
and was it inspired at all by your former partner, Juer-
gen Teller, and his passion for his work?
VS: I still enjoy the styling aspect of image making and
I find by marrying the styling and photography side, it
helps to tie everything together. When Juergen and I
were together we had a deep understanding of what each
other wanted. When we stopped working together, I felt
I was probably better at interpreting my thought process
than someone else.
MS: You’ve said that you’re “bored” by what you see in
magazines today. This discontent, has it always fueled
you? As a stylist, and now as a photographer, do you
channel that into your work?
VS: Discontent does not fuel me. I try not to channel
what other people are doing into my work, I prefer to
work in a vacuum.
MS: I feel like we’re in the wave of another major fash-
ion revolution, there’s a huge backlash against good
taste and what is universally regarded as “status,”
which is likely happening in tandem with the riots,
and protests, and general sense of upset and revolu-
tion within mainstream culture. At the time of your
fashion coming of age, were there other events hap-
pening outside of the industry that inspired your
sense of change and urgency?
VS: At the end of the 80’s the consumer bubble burst,
recession hit and there was a rise in unemployment. The
Berlin wall came down, there were revolutions in Roma-
nia, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, and the Soviet Union
was dissolved. Global warming became an issue and
people were dying of AIDS every day. The feeling of in-
destructibility and power had gone and there was a new
era of vulnerability, but also freedom. I think all these
events contributed to the image making of this time. It
became less about owning things and more about hu-
man interaction and shared experiences. There was a
backlash to the aspiration of wealth, jobs, and status. De-
signer handbags and high heels no longer seemed cool
and were replaced by Birkenstocks, t-shirts, and long
skirts. The drug was ecstasy and the rave culture took
over. Kate Moss was the poster girl for this new sense of
fun and abandon and the existing establishment started
to look old-fashioned.
MS: How do you see your aesthetic changing and ex-
pressing itself further?
VS: It is more of an evolution than a change of aesthetic.
Maybe it’s like getting older, you are still essentially the
same person but you have a different perspective on
things.
MS: There is an honesty and sincerity in all of your
work. It’s very refreshing. With so much of current
fashion work being fueled by advertising dollars, do
you have to make a conscious effort to maintain that
authenticity? Further, have you distanced yourself
from fashion in any ways for these reasons?
VS: I’m a hopeless liar, too transparent. I like to work
with a small team of people that I can trust and can be
open with. I have no reason to disconnect myself from
an industry, which I love and have enjoyed for over 30
years. It’s less distracting not to be in the thick of it!
MS: Many people, especially those in print, can be
terrified of the future, in all of its forms, and the
rapid onset of new technology. For your line of work,
for instance: the switch from film to digital, and from
print to digital. How do you envision this changing
the landscape of fashion and of photography? Are
you hopeful or fearful, and what are your wishes for
the upcoming generation of those you’ve inspired?
VS: I prefer not to look too far ahead. There’s enough
going on every day. I still shoot on film as well as digital.
My hope for the next generation is not to be too driven
by materialism.
MS: What is radical now?
VS: Leaving time to think.
( The End )
publication: ANOTHER MAGAZINE
photographer: VENETIA SCOTT
fashion: MARIE-AMÉLIE SAUVÉ
model: LINDSEY WIXSON