How we express ourselves seems to be most crucial in our teens and early adult lives. Whether you wore patterned socks to school, or bought the latest handbag to show off in the canteen, the innate fight to display our style is alive and abundant no matter what walk of life you come from. When Toufic Beyhum isn’t busy teaching or taking the helm as a creative director, he’s taking photographs of people at the Brixton Masjid, a mosque with a high turn out of young people – and an obsession with new kicks.
For the last year, Beyhum and his camera have been visiting the mosque for Friday prayers, taking the opportunity to snap budding sneaker enthusiasts. “The mosque in Brixton attracts a lot of young Muslims who want to show off their style. Problem is – when you're wearing a full-length dish dash – your only option to be stylish is through your trainers,” the photographer says, admitting that a lot of mosque-goers have even started to wear new trainers on Fridays – keen to be snapped. “The Brixton mosque attracts younger worshippers and the young people in Brixton are styling. If you look at the shoe rack at the entrance, it almost looks like [the shelves at] JD Sports or FootLocker.”
Beyhum would like to say thank you to the Imam and all the brothers and sisters at the Brixton Masjid
