Manchester legend Melanie Sykes has made a return to modelling for the first time since shaving her head earlier this summer.
As part of the campaign for Cubitts, she also returned to Ashton-under-Lyne, where both her, and Niall Hodson who photographed her, were born. Sykes has further connections to Tameside, having attended Mossley Hollins High School.
The campaign saw Sykes photographed in Manchester town centre with the Grade II-listed Toast Rack building in the background. Photographs were also shot in and around Ashton.
Sykes’ return to modelling is to commemorate the opening of Cubitts’ first Manchester store, with the campaign designed to “celebrate a city shaped by architecture, industry, and independent creativity”.
According to Cubitts’ press release:
“Rather than using Manchester simply as a backdrop, the campaign places the city as its centre, exploring places that have shaped generations of Mancunians.”
Sykes, a well-known former television and radio presenter, is seen modelling several models of sunglasses, including Britannia, Athlone, and Topham. Sykes first came to prominence in a popular series of television adverts for Boddingtons Beer in the 1990s.

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