The Women of Woodcock
A photographic journey through Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Phantom Thread
as seen from the perspective of the female characters
Photographs by Laura Hynd
Edited by Sophie de Rakoff
London, at the beginning of the 1950s, was the centre of the British fashion industry. The city was home to a small group of couturiers based in the wealthy district of Mayfair. Most occupied 18th century town houses in what were originally residential squares. These former domestic spaces were adopted by court dressmakers in the 19th century and naturally evolved into the couture houses of the 20th century.
Although never a serious rival to the dominance of Parisian couture, London’s couture industry enjoyed significant success post-war, with a distinctive character all of its own. The London designers produced beautifully crafted, elegant creations. London couturiers were known for their fine craftsmanship, particularly tailoring stemming from the Saville Row tradition, and the ability to cater to the needs of the refined upper class client for which they designed.
From the Introduction by Cassie Davies-Strodder
The Women of Woodcock is the companion photo book to the award-nominated film Phantom Thread, from the auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring the Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day Lewis in his last role, as Reynolds Woodcock, the film portrays an uncompromising fashion couturier in 1950s London — and the women that surrounded him: clients that included royalty, society debutantes, and heiresses, as well as his sister who runs the fashions house, the seamstresses, and his mistresses.
Gaining full access to backstage and on set, the English photographer Laura Hynd documented the fictional House of Woodcock: Hynd and her camera moved fluidly back and forth between costume fittings, the set, epic crowd scenes, extras, and classic portrait sessions. With insider access Hynd explored the fictional couturier with a specifically female gaze. Through her camera, all the women in the House of Woodcock, from royalty to atelier staff, are celebrated equally — a deliberate concept supported and highlighted by the inclusion of handful carefully selected frames from the movie. The Women of Woodcock is stunning, artful, and unexpected — much like Phantom Thread itself.
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Price: US $55
ISBN: 978-1-947359-02-4
Hardcover
8.5 x 11.5” (216 x 292 mm)
120 pages
100 color illustrations
Release date: November 2017
The Women of Woodcock is published in a limited edition of 1,000 copies.