Fashion Eye Scotland

“For Dad.” Discreet, handwritten, the dedication makes this book – its cover featuring the image of a deserted ferry – a very personal undertaking. In Scotland, Alasdair McLellan is not on foreign land; he knows its lakes and legends by virtue of his father, a Gordon Highlanders officer fascinated by Gaelic culture. The pensive, beret-and-uniform portrait of that man is as touching as the photo next to it, a souvenir of a trip to MacLellan’s Castle in Kirkcudbright. The family photo album then comes to an abrupt end, replaced by another portrait, one of a rebellious nation. McLellan sketches the likeness in midwinter, when the country, with its “extreme climate,” is “more photogenic.” With one exception: the Highland Games, the age-old competitive tradition in which kilted clans clash to the sound of bagpipes, an event that the photographer covered in summer 2014 for Man About Town magazine. So… the Highlands, but also the Cairngorms, the Isles of Skye, Mull and Iona, Edinburgh and Inverness. There is nary a fort, nary a lighthouse left overlooked by McLellan. From Glencoe’s snow-capped peaks swallowed by the mist to the desolate neighborhoods of Glasgow and Aberdeen, his depictions vary in the way time alters a place: sometimes in black and white, sometimes filtered with tartan hues, red or green. Everywhere are solitary faces of unadorned beauty sharing space with ancient stone structures and carpets of heather. And when the chimneys of Grangemouth pour forth their smoke, it blends with the gray, overcast sky, like the mute face of a Gothic doll. Elsewhere, the same red light caresses a Celtic cross and the roofs of Stirling, offering respite to these tormented territories. Inspired by the House's travel heritage, the Louis Vuitton Fashion Eye collection evokes cities, regions or countries through the eyes of fashion photographers, from emerging talents to industry legends. Each title in the series features an extensive selection of large-format photographs, together with biographical information and an interview with the photographer or a critical essay. After the Louis Vuitton City Guides and Travel Books, this third collection presents travel photography with a fashion perspective, as the chosen photographers all infuse their images of great cities, faraway places or dream destinations with their unique vision.