//Marrion Womble + Barbara Trentham in City Lights Studio clothes, London, 1973.//

Herb Schmitz proudly describes himself as a photojournalist.

From the start of his career in London in the late 60s, the Dusseldorf-born Schmitz has turned an unerring eye to all manner of subject matter: seascapes,Turkish gangsters, the WW2 head of the Polish government in exile, the social scene in latterday Shoreditch (where he has operated a studio for more than 25 years)…

//Ika Hindley models Hamnett bangles, 1973.//

In the wake of a recent exhibition at Amsterdam’s Unseen Photo Fair, Schmitz has opened his archive of early 70s fashion photography for me, revealing images of a lost London demi-monde clad by such hallowed enterprises as City Lights Studio (the Covent Garden boutique operated by the subject of my latest book, Tommy Roberts) and Katherine Hamnett’s label Tuttabankem.

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Tags: Barbara Trentham, Bertortelli's, City Lights Studio, David "Piggy" Worth, Derek Morton, Herb Schmitz, Ika Hindley, Jay Johnson, John Yong, Julie's, Katharine Hamnett, Malcolm "Percy" Raines, Marrion Womble, Neal Street Restaurant, Piggy, Pirates, Ronnie Melia, Terence Conran, Tuttabankem, Yves St Laurent, Yvonne Gold

Palais de Tokio, Paris Feb 2006. Suit in cavalry twill by Muller Wipperfurth.

I am proud to count Bruce Marcus, the man who is Count Indigo, as a firm friend. We have known each other for many years but familiarity has not blunted my admiration for his singular style one whit.

A keen sports participant and observer, one of the first pieces of information Bruce imparted to me was that he always wore a suit to watch football (I can’t remember his team, but sure he continues to strike an imposing figure on the terraces whatever their fortunes).

Bruce also confided that one of his peccadilloes is to shave en route when taking a journey by train (in homage to Cary Grant in North By Northwest). Naturally.

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Tags: Boris Conte, Bunny Roger, Cary Grant, Count Indigo, Dhobi, Eve's, Madame JoJo's, Mark Powell, Muller Wipperfurth, Nik Cohn, North By Northwest, Philip Boucas, Sammy Davis Jr, Stephane Manel, Today There Are No Gentlemen, Yves St Laurent