Even before Maria Grazia Chiuri made being a feminist en vogue, these legendary female photographers have been championing the power and strength of their feminine subjects in their photographs. So how do you make the #girlpower rallying call even louder and clearer? One word: Collaborate.
For her debut role as Dior’s first female creative director, Chiuri invited nine lensmen — or should we say lenswomen — to interpret her debut collection through their images which will be released on the brand’s Instagram and its e-magazine. Among them: Maripol, Janette Beckman, Brigitte Niedermair and Brigitte Lacombe.
For starters, Maripol is the French designer/photographer/stylist who was responsible for styling Madonna’s image during her “Like A Virgin” days. She’s also often credited for creating the original selfie shot — during a toilet break at Studio 54 with Bianca Jagger. Her irreverent and frank attitude is still evident in the Polaroids she took of the Dior models backstage at the S/S ’17 show. “There is a much closer, more intimate relationship between one woman and another, as there is no sexuality between us,” she says.
Then there is Brigitte Lacombe, the photographer who lensed the brand’s campaign this season and known for her directly honest and direct celebrity portraitures which come with a classic and clean aesthetic. “There was a sort of cliche, about the way we look at women, how we portray them in a sexier way, which to me often seems fake and sometimes even ridiculous,” she says.
One inspiring contributor in this project has to be Brigitte Niedermair who is best known for melding fine arts with still life photography and also happens to be one of Carine Roitfeld’s favourite artists and collaborators. In this particular outing, watch her interpret the key accessories and pieces from Chiuri’s debut collection in the painterly style of the Italian painter Domenico Gnoli. One quirk of Niedermair’s which she shares in the video: She insists on always working with an all-female team.
Then there is the English documentary photographer Janette Beckman who built a career photographing music legends like Boy George, The Clash and New York’s hip-hop scenesters of the ’80s and ’90s like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. Like the intimate and candid shots she is known for, Beckman captures the entire evolution of Chiuri’s collection, from the work that goes on in the atelier to the moments before the show.
Like this? Watch the behind-the-scenes video of our punk-inspired April fashion editorial, here’s what you need to know about Riccardo Tisci’s latest Nike sneaker tie-up, and see our favourite picks from the eco-friendly collection by H&M.
