Pictures of the week: Mod Couples, by Carlotta Cardana

For these young couples, image is everything. Their hair, shoes, coats and bags hark back to the late 50s and early 60s – a time of hairspray and back-combing, Brylcream and short trousers.→
Photograph: Carlotta Cardana

They would stand out on their own but together, in this age of dressing down, they are pretty head-turning. The men are dapper in three-piece suits and tie-pins, their other halves wearing elegant tea dresses, block heels and granny handbags.→
Photograph: Carlotta Cardana

The London 'mod' scene forms a backdrop to their relationships, says photographer Carlotta Cardana. A lot of the men are DJs in mod clubs – and all-nighters in these pitch-black basements are a big part of their social lives, just as they were in the 50s.→ Photograph: Carlotta Cardana

In dressing from the same era, they share an extra bond that other couples don’t. 'At first I thought the way they looked was a mask that could be taken off at will,' Cardana says. 'But actually, it’s their entire identity.'→ Photograph: Carlotta Cardana

For some couples, this extends to their environments, too: their homes pay homage to the 50s with mid-century furniture and Tretchikoff prints. And they hang out in old-school cafes with Formica tables. It’s as if they’ve created a world shielded from the 21st century. You wonder if they have iPhones. Or email.→ Photograph: Carlotta Cardana

This dedication to one particular era could have its drawbacks: would they stay together if one suddenly fell in love, say, with the 80s revival scene? Does their love of mod culture paper over any relationship niggles? →
Photograph: Carlotta Cardana

'I can’t imagine either one being with someone who wasn’t on the mod scene,' says Cardana. 'It’s too big a part of their lives.'

Mod Couples is on show at Photofusion, London SW9 until 31 May (photofusion.org).
Photograph: Carlotta Cardana