Jamie Morgan’s 1985 Buffalo The Year London Rewrote Fashion

For Jamie Morgan, the story of his new book began with a box buried deep in his archive, labelled simply “1985.” Inside were negatives and contact sheets from the year he and stylist Ray Petri were producing images that shifted the course of British fashion. Those photographs now sit together in 1985 Buffalo, published by IDEA, a record of a moment that continues to shape the way style and culture overlap.

Contact Sheet. Image credit: Jamie Morgan 1985 Buffalo, IDEA books. 

“It was exciting to see the box marked 1985 and immediately I thought that was a great title for a book,” Morgan says. “But it was only after a careful look that I saw how many unseen moments and interesting alternatives there were. I only ever used one image from each shot, so it was a joy to see all the alternative images that I had not remembered shooting.”

Buffalo was experimental, ignoring fashion rules as Morgan and Petri mixed references freely and cast people from the street rather than agencies. “There were no models in agencies we liked, simple,” Morgan recalls. “Once we realised that for us it was all about characters, not other people’s ideas of what a model should look like, the doors were open and we just shot whoever we wanted. The London streets became our model agency.”

That refusal to follow the script gave the work its rawness. Morgan and Petri also worked under pressure, with little time or money to waste. “Sometimes being limited helps creativity,” he explains. “These days with digital and retouching people can just shoot and shoot and sort it out later. We had to be very on point. It all had to be in camera, and the decisions had to be made in the moment. I had to trust my instincts and knew when I had the image I wanted and then moved on.”

In 1985 alone, Morgan shot seven covers for The Face, a pace that felt relentless. These included Killer, with twelve-year-old Felix Howard, and Men in Skirts, which challenged the usual proscribed images of masculinity seen in fashion photography. “Each one represents a moment in time,” Morgan says. “I’m proud of them all, but I think those two covers and Winter Sports represent particularly defining moments in fashion.”

Those covers carried the unmistakable stamp of Neville Brody, whose typography became central to the magazine’s identity, helping “define the look of the magazine,” Morgan says. “With us it was mostly about his support and encouragement about what we were doing. I remember saying to him when I shot Killer, I questioned whether people would understand the casting of a 12-year-old boy in The Face”, Neville’s response however only affirmed the image’s power and his love for it, ultimately necessitating its place on the cover.

Killer. Image credit: Jamie Morgan 1985 Buffalo, IDEA books

The images also introduced a new generation of faces. Naomi Campbell was still a teenager when she first stood in front of Morgan’s camera. “Naomi was shy and sweet in person, but as soon as she stepped in front of the camera, she gave a look of intent that was so strong that we knew she was going to be a serious contender,” he remembers. A few years later came Kate Moss. “Kate was as Kate still is, cheeky and street cool, but when we shot her she became also very beautiful and instantly glamorous.”

Kate and Naomi. Image credit: Jamie Morgan 1985 Buffalo, IDEA books.

At the centre of it all was Petri, the stylist whose vision shaped Buffalo. “We were a team in the most wonderful way that comes along once or twice in a career,” Morgan says. “We were opposites yet shared the same vision. He was more into art and classic culture, I was more street and punk. Somehow together we worked and never once had a disagreement or misunderstanding. I love that man like a father and a brother, he was the Don, a gentle genius.”

Nearly forty years on, the photographs still feel alive. “I think the images still have power for a few reasons,” Morgan says. “The authenticity of the moment. The fact that everything now is so quick and throwaway yet these photos still hold space and a stillness that people still need. They champion diversity and gender fluidity that society had eventually seen the need and value of opening up the industry. And maybe because beyond the cultural comment they are actually great pictures, if I say so myself! Ha!”

1985 Buffalo captures what was possible when instinct and collaboration mattered more than budgets or commercial expectations. What started as an improvised way of working in London has become part of the visual language of fashion worldwide. For Morgan, it is the rediscovery of images he once thought were gone. For everyone else, it is a chance to see the moment a handful of young outsiders reshaped how fashion could look, and who it could belong to.