Changing Faces: Portrait Positive, 3

The fashion industry was brought face-to-face with its narrow standards of beauty this London Fashion Week, through a unique collaboration between world-renowned photographer Rankin, designer Steven Tai and the charity Changing Faces. The Portrait Positive project, conceived by Stephen Bell, challenges perceptions of beauty through a series of striking images of 16 different women with visible facial and bodily differences. Shot by Rankin and dressed in designs by Steven Tai, three of the women from the portrait series took to the catwalk in Steven Tai’s presentation at London Fashion Week on September 16th. This was followed by a panel discussion at London Fashion Weekend about the fashion industry’s limited conceptions of beauty. The Portrait Positive images have been collated into a book of the same name - proceeds from the sales of which will go to support Changing Faces’ work across the country. The Portrait Positive book will launch on Tuesday, September 25th and will be available to purchase on the Portrait Positive website as well as select stores, boutique and art spaces across the UK. Changing Faces is the leading charity for 1.3 million children, young people and adults in the UK who have a medical condition, mark or scar that makes them look different. Approximately one in 111 people in the UK have a significant visible facial difference, despite being largely absent from representations in fashion and the media.