Actress Philippa Urquhart in The Grey Dress
Over the past decade, Wendy Carrig, a photographer friend of mine has taken pictures of more than 40 women wearing a grey polka dot dress that she found in a charity shop. And, I wanted to share this wonderful assignment with you. ‘ The Grey Dress Project started when I spotted this little dress (originally from Primark) tucked away in an over-stocked Pilgrims Hospice shop in Kent. Cotton polka dots sandwiched between bright, stretchy nylon on a heavily laden rail,’ Wendy explains. ‘ It cost £3 and reminded me of the dresses that were our summer uniform at school; and how we would each try to make ours different, by the tie of the belt, or the undoing of a button.’
Each portrait, shot in black and white, showcases the simple cotton dress refashioned in unique ways – collars popped, buttons done right up or left undone, the belt twisted or looped in numerous configurations. Every image is accompanied by a quote from the wearer, sharing their views on fast fashion and their thoughts on the dress itself.
‘What started as a series of fashion portraits has now, through societal change, grown and evolved into an ongoing project encouraging conversations on how to put the brakes on fast fashion and explore our relationship with clothing,’ Wendy continues. ‘My lucky intervention at the charity shop means the Grey Dress is still loved and worn, again and again. It hasn’t been added to disgraceful mountains of easily discarded and often single-use clothing that blights the landscapes of some of the world’s poorest countries. ‘
For Wendy, personal projects are important and always run alongside her commissioned photography; often evolving organically in response to what’s going on in the world around her. ‘How we consume fashion today has a negative impact on the environment,’ she says, ‘ And this has influenced my own choices on how I create images and who I create them with, and for. I hope the work I show reflects this.’ No need to worry about that with previous projects such as Washed Up and Ghost Gear highlighting plastic pollution in the oceans.
Model Kate Orr
The Grey Dress project is ongoing, and Wendy has a number of women in mind who she would like to photograph. But is open to collaboration, if anyone would like to take part in the project (you can contact Wendy via her website HERE) – and may even take a self-portrait, ‘I don’t have a picture of me in the Grey Dress yet,’ Wendy reflects. ‘But this is something I must do. The visibility of older women is of course another issue to shout about!’
Eventually, Wendy would like to frame The Grey Dress or give it away to someone who would make good use of it. In the meantime, she is keen to find out more about about the origins of the dress: where the cotton was grown and harvested, who made the fabric and where the dress was manufactured. She has asked if anyone has any information about the Primark dress that they please get in touch.
Wendy Carrig in action. Photo: Geoff Waring
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