in his absence”, a collaboration between photographer Laurence Ellis and LBN Design.

The launch also features a Horse by Tony Hornecker and a specially commissioned fading print of A J Abualrub for the b Store facade.

The Book

On Thursday the 27th of July 2008 a young photographer named Laurence Ellis received an unsolicited email requesting him to shoot a menswear story. The photo story was to be shot in Paris and exhibited at Frieze, with clothes designed exclusively by Lanvin and sponsorship from LVMH. The sender signed off as C.S. Leigh.

Incessant, erratic and strangely infectious, Laurence unintentionally catalogued C.S. Leigh’s daily correspondence over the course of the year as they planned the shoot. As the shoot date neared it became apparent that all was not quite as it seemed, but none the less, the model that CS Leigh pursued arrived in Paris for the shoot - AJ Abualrub. And so did C.S. Leigh.

This is a book about the show that never happened, and the strange year that proceeded it.

Since the early eighties C.S. Leigh seems to have lived through various incarnations as a fashion designer, art curator and film director, leaving behind a trail of mystery so foggy no-one seems to be able to really explain what it is he does, or how he does it. What we do know is that he is the main protagonist of this book, a keen writer of emails and he has once again, disappeared.

The book contains a full year of unabridged email correspondence between C.S. Leigh and Laurence Ellis, it also contains the photographs. AJ Abualrub in Paris, by C.S. Leigh and Laurence Ellis.

N

OTES TO EDITORS

Concept and Photography - Laurence Ellis

Art Direction & Design - LBN Design

Project & Curatorial Advisor - Laurie Britton Newell

Foreword & Afterword - Duncan Riches

Horse by Tony Hornecker