Art Direction

In March 2025 I started working on the Spring High Jewellery campaign for Boghossian called Omnia:

Omnia (noun)
/ˈɒm.ni.ə/ (Latin: all, everything)

1. The perfect synthesis of distinct elements into a seamless whole.
2. A state of harmony where differences unite to create something greater.
3. A jewellery collection inspired by balance, transformation, and the beauty of fusion.

The concept was inspired from the very essence of synthesis—the harmonious fusion of distinct elements to create something unexpected yet beautifully cohesive.

The jewels in Omnia brought together aquamarines, rubellites, green tourmalines, and other coloured gems in luminous, ethereal hues for their contrasts and connections.

I began as Art Director by presenting them with a series of moodboards and discussing the shoot possibilities with photographer and longtime collaborator Pedro Aguilar.  12 Instagram posts were identified for the core shoot which was half model and half still life.  We started hunting for props. We used prisms, refracted light, glass, light blocks, Perspex, light spectrums, light streams and a series of props that Pedro made himself.

As the shoot evolved it was renamed Lirya and we settled on one of my ideas: The symbiosis of art and science drawing inspiration from the mixing, symbolism and harmony of coloured gemstones and the colour theory of Isaac Newton.  Colour theory harks back to Aristotle’s Treatise with Newton developing his own ideas in his seminal work Opticks: or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light, (circa 1704 published in English and Latin) Newton delved into light refracted in prisms and lenses, the diffraction of light through sheets of glass and the reflection of light by mirrors which he called the ‘inflexion’ of light in physics to explain its fundamental nature as well as the behaviour of colours in the spectrum during the Science Revolution.

In Optics Newton came up with the multi-prism dispersion theory, using prisms as a mathematical tool to achieve geometry.  In the campaign for Lirya, Boghossian employ prisms, mirrors, reflections and refractions of light to illustrate important aquamarines, morganites and tourmalines in harmonious ways with a rainbow spectrum flashing across the model’s face and light streams bringing the pieces to life. This kaleidoscope of light and movement heralds a new age where the idea of what is precious in terms of coloured gemstones is expanding beyond the traditional ruby, emerald and sapphire.  A new democracy of beauty is here and with it Lirya by Boghossian.

The results were spectacular and our model was wonderful.  We shot over two days in London, and the campaign ran in May for Spring 2025.

Brand: Boghossian

Art Director: Melanie Grant

Photographer: Pedro Aguilar

Assistant Photographer: Callum Smyth

Model: Sahar Messenger from IMM

Hair & Makeup: Dani Guinsberg

Nails: Megan Cummings

Studio: Big Sky

The entire project took around 4 months from initial concept to final published campaign and in that time, I learnt more about light than I ever thought possible.  We had a lot of fun in the process too!

Photographed for Boghossian Jewels, running May 2025.

Art Direction

In the spring of 2021, the Bond Street Maison Boghossian Jewels asked me to devise a series of conceptual images to run on Instagram showcasing their ‘Kissing’ collection where flawless stones sit within stones.  I decided to highlight the colour of the jewels using colour a backdrop of abstract greyscale scenes, each inspired by a moment in history and an artist to illustrate each of the four elements.

Air – Paying homage to Dutch aritst Berndnaut Smilde’s cloud series, air was light and curious.

Fire – Dedicated to the Italian poet Dante Alighieri and heaven as he describes it in The Divine Comedy.

Earth – The texture of sand shaping the work of Arab Iranian scholar Baha’ al-din al-‘Amili who built The Naqsh-e Jahan Square for Shah Abbas in Isfahan,  between 1598 – 1629, then a paradise and considered one of the great wonders of the world.

Water – Channeled the passion of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai and his wood cuts, the most famous of which was The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Each ‘scene’ was painstakingly constructed by set design Helen MacIntryre and photographed by Pedro Aguilar over 3 days using a van load of materials and props.  Twelve final images were created and then animated to create subtle movement. 

The entire project took around 6 weeks. Still life photography for jewellery is such an art form and even more taxing wearing a mask for 14 hours in a studio during Covid.  Thanks to Dalia, Loft Studios, Pedro and Helen for making it so fun.

Photographed for Boghossian Jewels, running online from May 2019.

Art Direction

The Eternal twins are a pair of 50.23-carat diamonds, identical in cut and polish yet unmatched in impact.  When I first saw them in the flesh, when they were unleashed from their velvet box and security guards were tentatively ushered aside – my heart and the room stopped.  We had a big team at Big Sky Studios.  Our model Yoon had been in hair and makeup for 5 hours and was only able to eat through a straw with assistance.  The body painting alone had taken most of the morning and Isabelle Bonjean our photographer, who had come in from Paris for the occasion just wanted to get started.  We knew we only had the earrings for an hour, maybe two.

Kamanza, my long time hair and makeup collaborator is fast but we knew our concept would be tough to pull off with the time we had.  Isabelle, also one of my favourite conceptual photographers is also fast but she could only do so much and when the earrings arrived I locked eyes with Katherine from Graff and she immediately said “I’ll ask for more time”.  And we got it.  It was a stunning shoot.  Isabelle shot Yoon in every configuration possible in order to add her ‘twin’ later in retouching and that pale grey on grey on diamond white was everything I hoped it would be.  We ran it as the cover of our Jewellery supplement that year.  If diamonds were people, I like to think these ethereal, celestial and otherworldly entities would be celebrities in their own right.

Jewellery Graff, POA.

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Photographer: Isabelle Bonjean, Hair and Makeup: Kamanza Amihyia, Model: Yoon at Models 1

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in October 2017.

Art Direction

Raffia used to be the kind of thing you’d weave at the back of the classroom if you were ‘special’ but not anymore!  Now it’s a luxury material used in all kinds of ways, especially for shoes and bags and it’s having a summery moment.  Not much beats a wild raffia fringe but this Le petit Baci by Jacqemus serves another trend for miniature bags which is both impractical and comedy.  What’s not to love?!

We began planning this shoot as the world withdrew into lockdown in March 2020.  Not to be put off, our intrepid photographer David Newton skulked in the bushes of a central London park looking for suitable foliage as nearly everyone else was hiding at home.  In the end we delved into David’s surprisingly varied props cupboard and fished out all the branches we needed and our summer time, sky blue, glorious vibe was born.

Bag Le petit Baci, Jacqemus £330

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Photographer: David Newton, Stylist: Lewis Munro.

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in March 2020.

Art Direction

Big gold hoops, a lick of mascara and a slash of red lipstick.  That’s all a woman needs I’ve often thought but the hoop is multi-purpose in modern times and is just as likely to adorn the ears of Presidents as it is femme fatales.  Some design houses stack them into high jewellery, smothered with diamonds as seen here for De Grisogono and some like them plain.

For this shoot I wanted a monochrome hoop on a fiery redhead and contrasted that with the softest of egg shell blue.  Dani Guinsberg (on hair and makeup) and I decided to opt for super slick hair, smooth almost glossy skin and a sultry smokey eye.  Almost like our model Sofie had stepped out of the shower with all her best jewels on.  I like to shoot serious jewellery as individual pieces to give it the respect it deserves.  

Jewellery Hoop earrings in white gold with black and white diamonds, De Grisogono, POA

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Photographer: Martin Morrell, Hair and Makeup: Dani Guinsberg, Model: Sofie Theobald at The Hive

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in December 2017.

Art Direction

Alex Kent is a photographer who knows a thing or two about tongue in cheek conceptual photography.  He elevates line and form in clever ways using humble materials as this vase shows, shot for our Style section in The Economist’s culture magazine, 1843.  I art directed for this full page shoot. We borrowed the vase from a London Gallery.

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Photographer: Alexander Kent. 

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in February 2020.

Art Direction

This is a modern take on a watch that passed a series of gruelling tests by NASA in the 1950’s when they were looking for a timepiece which would survive in space.  Now called the Dark side of the Moon this watch is part of that pivotal moment in human history and to illustrate that we needed a footprint in moon dust.

Photographer Luke Kirwan is dirt specialist, specifically huge trays of very particular types of earth and gravel, which mixed in the right quantities can appear to put us anywhere in the world.  In this case it was on the moon and his moon boot print was a flourish that finished the shot.  The watch itself blended beautifully with the grey clay and I love the long shadows (we researched those) to achieve the right atmosphere.

Watch Omega Speedmaster “Dark Side of the Moon” Apollo 8, £7,200.

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Photographer: Luke Kirwan

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in November 2018.

Art Direction

Trainers that resembled clown shoes began selling for thousands of dollars a few years back as they were sucked into the fashion universe by brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Stella McCartney.  I would see bird like women sauntering down Bond Street in cutting edge McQueen and then bam! on their feet loomed a colourful leather shoe so outlandish I’d have to look twice.  This was heaven for me because trainers are my go to shoe from boardroom to bar stool.

We wanted to capture this moment of foot freedom and asked our model Stephanie to bend herself into a series of positions only a 22 year old / yoga instructor do could while sitting or laying on a set of blocks conjured by by Joel our photographer.  I love that moment on a shoot when the team look at each other and know they have the shot.  This was all about the shoe as hero.  On a plinth, as a monument but yet still remaining editorial in feel.  Ugly the trainers may have been but strangely beautiful too.

Shoes Eclipse colour-block trainers, Stella McCartney, £450.

Dior Homme summer 2018 trainer in black calfskin and canvas, Dior.

Ozweego III trainer in leather and mesh, adidas x Raf Simons, £290.

Louis Vuitton, £780.

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Photographer: Joel Chant, Stylist: Celine Sheridan, Model: Stephanie Silva at Body London.

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in April 2018.

Art Direction

I remember seeing some gorgeous military green on the Prada runway and discussing it with our stylist Lewis Munro who put together a fantastic collection of looks with the help of photographer Tom Andrew.  On a scorching hot day in Tottenham, North London when the building next door called the fire brigade because our smoke machine wouldn’t stop and we packed our model Anna into layer after layer of military chic, almost to boiling point – we reinacted a mood board that incorporated the Navy, Airforce, Army and even interrogation (can you guess which shots they are?)

We kept accessories to a minimum, this was all about outerwear and we kept the palette punchy aided by Simone Rocha’s excellent red nylon coat for Moncler (which of course I’m obsessed with) It was a marathon of a shoot with wind machines, smoke machines, rain machines and just about every gadget known to man.  I think we captured the intensity of the atmosphere.  It’s a shame we didn’t run the smoke shot in the end.  God I love a smoke machine!

Fashion Red nylon coat, 4 Moncler x Simone Rocha, £2,850

Military green nylon cape jacket, £2,135/$2,665 and skirt, £510/$636. Blue Egyptian cotton shirt, £640, all Prada

Shearling parka with Kaffe Fassett print, Coach, £2,200. Military button skirt, Fendi at Flannels, £1,190. White silk shirt dress, Tom Ford at Flannels, £2,110. Black Jadon platform boots, Dr Martens, £169

Monogram print nylon jacket, Burberry at Flannels, £650

Belted trench coat, 4 Moncler x Simone Rocha at Flannels, £1,390. Flamingo printed wool jacket with oversized sleeves, £1,460, skirt, £585 and black leather Mary Jane shoes, £625, all Maison Margiela

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Stylist: Lewis Munro, Photographer: Tm Andrew, Hair: Yusuke Morioka, Makeup: Claudine Blythman using Mac Cosmetics, Producer: Shona Hughes, Model: Anna Nevala from The Hive, Assistant: Joe Smart.

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in September 2019.

Art Direction

I asked Andrew Bolton, curator in charge of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to give us his thoughts on the work of British jewellery designer Shaun Leane and what he told our writer Rebecca was pure poetry.  Shaun had been Lee McQueen’s jeweller of choice.  Whatever Lee dreamt up, Shaun conjured up and their collaboration lasted for many years affecting both of them deeply.

Once the interview was done Shaun invited us into his studio and I asked him tentatively if he would get one of his masterpieces out of storage from those days.  This is the result.  Ian Winstanley did the honours and in cramped conditions unfurled a grey backdrop to play with the neutral tones of all the elements.  I like to think of this as my ‘grey period’ as many of our shoots at that time fell into this neutral category.  Art Directors aren’t artists but we do have eras of taste and I think I’ve since become louder and brighter.  Shaun loved this shot and I think he bought the images from Ian.  It was also a nice illustration of a very elegant and graceful period of his own creativity.  

Jewellery Tahitian pearl and silver neckpiece for Alexander McQueen

Creative Team Art Director: Melanie Grant, Photographer: Ian Winstanley.

Photographed for 1843 Magazine at The Economist in September 2016.