When You’re a Boy celebrates men in fashion photography, specifically the men who create photographs of men. Focusing on the career of a stylist rather than a photographer, this is the first exhibition devoted to the groundbreaking British menswear stylist Simon Foxton, whose career spans the last three decades, a time of profound change in fashion and style photography.

Foxton (UK, b.1961) is a leading image-maker of men’s fashion, who has anticipated and defined key shifts in menswear design since the early 1980s. Capturing menswear’s spirit and energy in some of the most memorable fashion photographs of the period, he questions definitions of masculinity, national identity and taste. Historic portrait iconography and classic English men’s tailoring are combined with contemporary sportswear design, street fashion and references to gay subcultures to produce sophisticated and innovative fashion images for a range of brands and magazines.

When You’re a Boy will explore the complex and varied working practice of a fashion stylist as well as showcase Foxton’s important working partnerships with fashion photographers including Nick Knight (UK, b.1958), Jason Evans (UK, b.1968) and Alasdair McLellan (UK, b.1974). Foxton’s witty, often provocative and highly influential collaborations will be presented through a range of photographic prints, scrapbooks and image installations.

Exhibition dates: 17 July – 4 October 2009

Location: The Photographers’ Gallery, 16 – 18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW

For more information go to: http://www.photonet.org.uk/