From the ashes

The British are on an uphill trawl to regain their reputation for fierce personality, patriotism and spunk. Since Team GB's record achievements in the Beijing Olympics, our sporting success has continued on and off the field, with Lewis Hamilton claiming the title of youngest Grand Prix Champion and the growing hype surrounding our own Olympic games in London 2012. The rise of fresh faced artists and models has boosted the UK back into the spotlight of international appreciation. British music has come back around to a peak and the country's renowned acceptance for experimental and collaborative sounds has succeeded in bringing back the panache that the UK music scene had been struggling to maintain. 

Icons of Britain come in all forms, but there is no denying that, as the media capital of the world, England is most often seen represented by people. Not just any people; beautiful page turners and screen workers who explode from the streets of London to the homes and cities of millions of people all over the world. The faces of this country say a lot about the innate British spirit, and I'm inclined to believe that it is the revival of unique style and flair in fashion that has put London back onto the industries map.

Ash Stymest

From skater to page turner. Ash Stymest is a tender seventeen years of age and currently, my face of Britain. Signed to Models1 this year, Ash has climbed from three pages in i-D to full cover shoots for Japanese Vogue Hommes and new zine on the block, Spanish Electric Youth. The first time I googled his name all that came up was a picture of him as a kid with his band. Now there are pages of model profiles, blogs and artists releasing photographs, scans and news about where we will see Ash's face next. 

Apart from obviously being flawlessly beautiful, Ash's 'look' follows the recent trend of punk rock youths being dragged off their BMXs and into a studio. Luke Worrall, Josh Beech, Daisy Lowe and Alice Dellal, as well as Converse's latest poster boy, Frank Carter (Gallows) all sport an edgier, body modificated style. Fashion has subsequently fallen into step and all year the catwalks have been previewing darker, S&M and punk influenced collections. Models1 continues to hold advantage over other agencies, with a constant stream of young British faces being added to their books, including the now celebrity model, Agyness Deyn from Manchester.

Electric Youth's British issue is due for release late 2008. This edition is solely about the great Brits and includes Ash, Luke Worrall, Pixie Geldof and more. Although the choice of young people to represent the best of British talent might be questionable, Luke and Ash make the whole enterprise worth a read. Also photographer Alasdair McLellan (i-D) shot the issue. Their website is currently under construction and available in a stripped back form here. 

December's Dazed and Confused will feature a spread with Ash and Josh Beech. Photos were released this week to preview the issue, to see the full collection visit Nicola Formichetti's blog. The pair look great together and hopefully this won't be the last time we see them working on the same shoot. As everyone knows, androgynous beauty is at the top of my hot list, and this series pays tribute to the delicate balance of masculinity and pretty boys that should make up any bed scene. Photos by Brett Lloyd.

And so we reach the conclusion of the post. The new British models turning pages all over the world are the new icon of what it means to be from the UK. Ash Stymest happens to be one of the many that represent my country as how it is, or should be, excitable, spontaneous, unique, creative, imaginative, distinctive and determined. Punk ethics might seem a little hardcore to apply to the British spirit, but the matter of fact, rebellious attitude that the new wave of models have is a way of life, stripped down to personality rather than a facade of contacts and high up parents. Today's face of Britain is Ash Stymest, because he is youth and he is passion.