When we started planning our latest shoot, I wanted to create something that felt elevated and contemporary, but also true to what Field Grey does best: designing beautifully made, versatile pieces that work hard across different settings.
This one was particularly exciting because we were showcasing two sides of what we do — the Readywear collection, with its adaptable, off-the-peg pieces, and a selection of bespoke uniforms we’ve created for clients, including The Sloane Club, Langdale, and SHŌTŌ and ĀKĒDO.
With Readywear, it’s always been about creating a collection that feels versatile but also exciting – pieces that work hard for our clients but also appeal to those punters who just love what we’re doing and want to get their hands on the drops.
For this shoot, I wanted to get that across visually: the lifestyle side of Readywear, alongside the personality and detail that goes into the bespoke designs we create for individual brands.
We set out to create something more elevated than a traditional lookbook. The idea was to capture the attitude and energy behind the collection — movement, texture, personality — without over-styling or clutter. The set was deliberately pared back so the focus of the shoot stayed on the pieces themselves: their shape, fabric and detail.
I knew straight away that I wanted to work with stylist Gareth Scourfield again. We’ve collaborated several times over the years, and he has such a refined, contemporary eye. Gareth instinctively gets what Readywear is about and how we want the clothes to be worn, so he was the perfect person to help bring this shoot to life.
Discovering the world of uniforms
Gareth first worked with us several years ago, but he says this shoot gave him a much deeper appreciation of the creativity and detail behind uniform design:
“I’m a friend of Janice’s, but she also went to college with my wife, Zoe, so we’ve known each other for a long time. I first worked with her five or six years ago, when she photographed me in some of the Readywear pieces for a portfolio. But it wasn’t until this shoot – and actually sitting down with her to talk about it – that I started to get really fascinated with this whole area of uniform and workwear.”
”I suddenly realised that every bar, every pub, every hotel has staff in a uniform – and it’s all about conveying an image, creating a look, setting a tone for the guest experience. I was like, ‘Oh my God, who else does this? Who’s the competition?’”
Now, he says, he notices uniforms everywhere:
“Whenever I go into a hotel or a smart restaurant, I’m immediately looking at what the staff are wearing. From chefs to front of house to the concierge – they’re all different, and it’s fascinating.”
An editorial approach
From the start, Gareth and I wanted to move away from the traditional approach to workwear photography and create something that felt more dynamic and aspirational.
“We treated it more like an editorial shoot than an e-comm one,” Gareth says. “I wanted to avoid anything too catalogue-y. Uniform can be a bit of a loaded word – it makes people think of fast food chains or something stiff and generic. But these pieces had personality.
“Janice needed shots for international clients who couldn’t see the uniforms in situ, so the shoot had to do a lot. We used three backgrounds to give different moods but kept things pared back.”
“We played with movement, shape, crops and lighting as if it were an editorial. But We didn’t over-style or over-light anything. The clothes did all the work.
“What was interesting was that each garment stood alone as a beautiful piece of clothing. Even the male model was saying, ‘Can I buy these trousers? They feel so great.’ And the female model was the same with the dresses – she said, ‘I’d totally go out in this.’
“That’s what made it so nice, putting the collection into a studio setting with two models who looked fantastic in the clothes. It allowed us to look at the pieces from both a style perspective and a functional one.”
Standout pieces
“The performance trousers really stood out,” Gareth says. “I’d seen a sample before, but it wasn’t until the models put them on and moved around that you could really see how well they were designed. There’s so much thought in the practical details – stress points at the bum and knees, adjustable hems – but they still looked great styled with a T-shirt and trainers.”
He was equally taken with some of the newer pieces we were trialling, including designs created for The Sloane Club:
“Those camel trousers with the side adjusters and double pleats – absolutely something I’d wear,” he says. “And the ticking stripe shirts, the bib fronts, the collarless styles – really strong. The dresses too – they’d genuinely sit comfortably in someone’s everyday wardrobe.”
Details that matter
What stood out for Gareth – and for us – was just how much how the quality and personality of each piece came through, even out of context:
“The fabrics, the finishes, the cuts – everything felt thoughtful. Every piece had its own point of view, from the Langdale hotel right through to the Japanese restaurants we worked with. And I started to see how Janice and her team work: there are so many clever little touches – like using a particular lining colour because it ties into the interiors of a hotel. It’s not just branding; it’s about creating something cohesive and considered.”
Adaptable by design
This adaptability is exactly what we wanted the shoot to capture. A single piece – a shirt, a jacket, a pair of trousers – should work seamlessly across environments, from a Japanese restaurant to a private members’ club to a café.
Gareth says that’s what struck him most when working on the shoot:
“I found it really interesting. There’s a Scandinavian minimalism to Field Grey’s Readywear that makes it feel elevated but still very wearable. The pieces have point of view but they’re adaptable. It’s not your standard ’uniform’ look – there’s nothing boxy or stiff about them.”
”Then you’ve got the bespoke side of what Field Grey does — these really limited runs, carefully thought through — and there are all these little quirks and stories behind the pieces. All those details make the clothes feel considered and connected to the spaces they’re made for.”
That balance, between versatility and individuality, design and practicality, runs through everything we do at Field Grey. Whether it’s a Readywear piece or a one-off bespoke design, our goal is the same: to create clothing that works hard, feels great to wear and reflects the unique identity of the spaces it belongs to.