British eyewear brand Cubitts has launched a new campaign celebrating Manchester which stars television personality and “Boddingtons girl” Melanie Sykes.

The campaign sees Sykes return to her hometown, posing in locations including the Northern Quarter, the Grade II-listed Toast Rack building and the streets of Ashton-under-Lyne. The campaign marks Sykes’ first major fashion shoot since revealing her alopecia, and embracing her bald look earlier this summer.

Tom Broughton, founder of Cubitts said: “I vividly remember Melanie Sykes as the face of Boddingtons in that brilliant 1996 campaign. She became part of the visual language of Manchester for a generation – witty, confident and unmistakably Mancunian.

“So when we came to open Cubitts in Manchester, it felt fitting to work with someone so indelibly linked to the city. Melanie has that same combination of character, wit and individuality that has always made Manchester such a special place to me.”

It puts the spotlight on some of the retailer’s new sunglass designs- the Britannia and the Athlone and Topham styles and was shot by Mancunian photographer Niall Hodson.

This comes as the brand open’s its first store in the city.