MODERN FAMILY
Creative mother Charlotte Scott and her super-cool brood are living the summer holiday of our dreams
Any mum with an iphone can take pictures of her kid, but a former magazine editor, the perennially chic Charlotte Scott, uses her Instagram account (@charlotte_scott_) to record her own brand of family life. Capturing magic moments of her brood, nine-year-old Ollie and six-year-old twins Louis and Valentine, while artfully keeping her own appearance out of the focus of family portraits, she turns their daily adventures into art that evokes the freedom and fun of childhood. “I take pictures of what’s around me, the children, the sea, the sky. I’ve always loved looking at other people’s personal photos. Slide night has never scared me, so I like looking through Instagram whenever I’m waiting for swimming or music or dance, or whichever lesson it is, to end,” says Scott.
In the new age of carefully curated digital lives, Scott’s pictures are as natural as they are inspirational. But the humour is not lost on her if the children pull their best Blue Steel. “Most of the photos are moments when I’ve managed to snap them unawares, which is the best way. Sometimes they’ll pose, but it’s very low-key and I don’t mind a bit of awkwardness. My kids smile, laugh and run around a lot, but they have really mastered static and dour for the camera,” she says.
So how about her own style? “It hasn’t exactly changed – it’s just a matter of ‘when and where am I going to wear this?’. Walking the kids to school and running them around afterwards means that practicality and whatever I took off yesterday usually win out. I did just buy some high red boots by Isabel Marant that reminded me of ‘Thriller’. I may have to drive to school in those,” she laughs.
ELLE asked Scott to join forces with her partner, fashion photographer and reluctant Insta-husband (“I try to coerce him into it, but he’s too busy,” she explains) Pierre Toussaint, to share a slice of their summer. You’ve just witnessed their family slide night from the front row.