written by Hendrike Rahtz
interviewed by Giselle francis and Thea Martynska
Saffron is a fashion photographer and stylist from Forest Hill who inadvertently began her career at the age of 17 by assisting Kylie Minogue’s team during a UK tour. A quick detour to the University of Warwick led Saffron to realise that she wanted to pursue her creative side in the form of fashion photography and styling. growing up and living in London her whole life, Saffron felt like it was the place she could make those precious connections and secure opportunities. Ultimately, it’s the best place to ‘be as a creative’. Self-taught, and trying to start finding work in the industry, Saffron reached out to friends, friends of friends, and, with confidence, professionals – just to see whether they would take a chance on her.
A mutual friend gave Saffron her second opportunity to assist with styling. This led to a fortunately timed connection to a stylist who was prepping for an iD shoot, which resulted in having her name in print. Saffron said that this has snowballed into various opportunities which have established her as a freelance photographer/stylist. Freelancing, she says, is up and down – but any work is an addition to a portfolio to show she is passionate about her work and of course, capable.
When Saffron styles for a shoot she brings the same mindset as when she’s styling herself each day; ‘what character do I want to be today’/’which character best fits the narrative I am trying to create for my shoot?’. She describes her work as thoughtful but also intuitive; there’s a difference between learning from trends and following trends – Saffron’s work doesn’t tend to follow what’s hot and avoid what’s not.
As a Black woman, Saffron strives to centre those from POC communities in her work to create more representation in a world that is white dominated. She says this doesn’t come from a drive to make a political statement, but rather an effort to normalise Black people and other POC in these spaces. She has worked on many sets, and those that have majority queer and POC people in them are most freeing and feel like a safe space whereas in a white dominated set, Saffron says she often feels she has to “dilute” herself sometimes in a mindset of thinking ahead to future work and opportunities.
It’s Saffron’s culture and familial background that drives her influences; having grandparents come from Jamaica to South London and the style they brought with them that forms her “blueprints”. As a South Londoner, the community that has been built here has influenced Saffron’s work and what drew her to stay. She feels that the culture hub in South London stands out among other parts of London, and its where she feels safest and most comfortable creating. This is partly due to the inclusivity of POC in South London in artistic spaces; you can feel free to do whatever you want, Saffron concludes.
You can check out what Saffron is up to by following her instagram @sexyfunkywoman
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