The IDENTITY Project – A Portrait of a Community, by ​award-winning photographer Chris Jepson, is an exploration of what it means to identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community today.

This exclusive JLP Edition is a unique collaboration that celebrates the diversity within the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) by capturing the portraits and stories of its LGBTQIA+ Partners. The project spotlights the rich tapestry of identities within the organisation, emphasising the diverse, inclusive and supportive environment fostered by the Partnership.

John Lewis is a British institution. The brand arrived on the UK high street in 1864 as a small draper’s shop and has become one of Britain’s best-loved brands. As a Partnership, all employees have a say in the running of the business and a share in profit, knowledge and power. This democratic ethos is at the heart of the Partnership, and means every customer interaction takes place with an owner of the business. In 2017, it topped both YouGov’s BrandIndex poll (which measures consumer perceptions of quality, value for money and satisfaction) and its Employer Brand Reputation Survey.

The launch of its annual Christmas film has become a national event – one that is met with almost as much frenzied excitement as surprise album drops and the return of cult TV shows – and is now as much a part of the festive season as turkey lunches and mince pies.

John Lewis is generally regarded as a brand for people who care about good customer service and is famously popular with affluent shoppers. The same is true of its sister brand Waitrose – a supermarket so posh, it spawned a parody Twitter account sharing middle class-isms overheard in its stores.