Big picture: Matchy-matchy couples, by George Maas

You can forgive the his-and-hers wetsuits – it’s hard to stamp your identity on head-to-toe black rubber – but for the rest, there’s no excuse. → Photograph: George Maas

Wearing the same outfit as your partner, at the same time, is a fashion no-no par excellence. Only identical twins under two can get away with this shocking sartorial behaviour – just. → Photograph: George Maas

Matchy-matchy, of course, was this summer’s “in-the-know” trend, but that meant co-ordinating the top of your Stella McCartney luxe pyjamas with the bottom. → Photograph: George Maas

I think it’s safe to assume the look doesn’t extend to matching weatherproof jackets on middle-aged couples. → Photograph: George Maas

What drives them to do this? Is there a sense of comfort in welding your identity so closely to that of your partner – an unequivocal message to the rest of the world to say hands off, they’re mine? → Photograph: George Maas

Is it purely practical – if you get separated in a crowd, you’d know exactly what the other is wearing? → Photograph: George Maas

A subconscious statement about contemporary life’s loss of individuality? → Photograph: George Maas

Perhaps we are reading too much into it? Who knows, maybe the Netherlands, France and Germany – where, somewhat unsurprisingly, most of these photographs were taken – have regular two-for-one offers on sensible outerwear. → Photograph: George Maas

Photographer George Maas spotted his first identikit couple around five years ago. → Photograph: George Maas

As happens, once he had started noticing them, they were everywhere. → Photograph: George Maas

At first, it was a bit of a joke. Then he started to take it seriously. → Photograph: George Maas

Today, he says, it’s a full-blown addiction. “I feel like a hunter. → Photograph: George Maas

And when I see a couple dressed the same, it’s as if I’ve spotted a rare species of animal.” → Photograph: George Maas

He’s amassed nearly 60 pairs so far – perhaps he could turn them into playing cards for a game of concentration. Photograph: George Maas