Steve Edge - Lord Shoreditch - a portrait
His Twitter bio reads “Prophet, Madman, Wanderer, Brand Guru and Fisherman”. One of his mottos is “Dress for a party everyday, the party will come to you.” Being severely dyslexic, he has never read a book. He grew up in a colourful family in London and had a pet chimpanzee called Primo. He’s been publishing design work since the age of 12, won European Young Artist of the Year when he was 15 and worked with Jim Henson on the Muppets, with George Lucas on Star Wars and Indiana Jones, became friends with Salvador Dalí, all before he established Edge Design in 1982, working with clients like Fortnum & Mason, Cartier, Dior, Skanska and Hamleys.
I’m talking about Steve Edge.
The final portrait
I met Steve at his inspiring, fun and colourful West of England Design Forum talk, where I was covering the event with my camera. We had a great chat and I followed this up with an email asking if he would be up for doing a portrait session with me the next time I was in London. And that’s how I ended up on a walk around the neighbourhood with the flamboyant and charming “Lord Shoreditch” telling me story upon story about his area, buying me a beer and posing for pictures in his wonderful Dries van Noten coat wherever we came across an interesting set-up.
It was a wonderful session. I enjoyed every minute!
The Electricity Showrooms, location of the final portrait
