Challenging the preconceptions of style within the English countryside

Lauren Brown

This photography series focuses on the stereotypes of clothing and styles which surround the rural landscape. The project interferes and contradicts the preconceptions society has about style in certain spaces. The series demonstrates the significance of societal associations of certain styles with certain places. The focal point and shooting location for this project is Devil's Dyke, a prototypical picture of the British countryside, situated in West Sussex with rolling green hills which stretch for miles. This project explores the key theme of ‘identity’ and experiments with clothes and colours. It presents clothing aesthetics typical of the urban environment against a backdrop of a rural environment. As a result, it juxtaposes the viewer's perception and complicates stereotypical notions of English countryside and aims to highlight how as a society, we should not assume that certain styles are restricted to certain spaces.