From fashion rebels to National Portrait Gallery stars Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales

“There have been very few fashion designers who have been so unique and had such an impact,” Pickering says.

“Fashion is something for everyone every day, and we have to have fashion in the collection. We also have a broad view of what creativity is and fashion designers are artists for us. The opportunity to bring their artistry together with Samuel Hodge’s work … we knew we would get something completely amazing, which we have.”

In the past, Hodge’s work has involved pinning countless images to a wall, but for this commission something more permanent was required. Elements of collage remain, assembling images acquired through a 20-year friendship with Plunkett and Sales.

“These kinds of works are akin to the teenage bedroom wall or scrapbook,” Hodge says. “There’s a lot of affection. Everything is a memory that’s triggered.”

Images of Sales and Plunkett, surrounded by cloudlike shapes, float at the centre of Hodge’s artwork.

“That’s our work in a lot of ways,” Plunkett says. “It feels like a bit of a dream.”

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