Famous ladies' goodbye to Patrick Demarchelier
A French fashion photographer who has forever indebted the fashion industry with his artistic expression has left the world at the age of 78.
A French fashion photographer who has forever indebted the fashion industry with his artistic expression has left the world at the age of 78.
Yesterday, shocking news traveled the world for the entire fashion world and all lovers of fashion photography: French fashion photographer, Patrick Demarchelier, has passed away at the age of 78.
Although he gained most of his fame later in life as Princess Diana's personal photographer, Demarchelier's beginnings were modest. Born in the port town of Le Havre in 1943, he made his first contact with the fashion world by moving to Paris 20 years later. There he collaborated with famous names like Henri Cartier-Bresson, but he always emphasized that he was self-taught: 'I have no formal education, only a life school', he told Vogue in 2003.
After practicing his craft in the European fashion capital, he headed to New York in the mid-1970s, where he began working more intensively as a portraitist of celebrities and one of the most sought-after photographers in fashion editorials.
Through many years of engagements at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, he has achieved some of the most striking photographic moments of modern times, such as the well-known black-and-white photograph of supermodel Christy Turlington shown with a large rose installation on his head.
He has collaborated with most fashion houses, shot the prestigious Pirelli calendar several times, captured all relevant supermodels of the ‘90s, and filmed celebrities from all walks of life, from Madonna to Hillary Clinton. Of course, his long collaboration with Princess Diana left a great impact on popular culture as it was Demarchelier who was behind some of the most memorable portraits of the adored Lady Di.
Unfortunately, his great reputation was tarnished a few years ago, when he began to receive accusations of sexual violence, which he publicly denied, emphasizing that “never, never, never” had he inappropriately touched the model.
Despite this, dedications to the deceased photographer flooded social media, and among them were Bella Hadid, Gisele Bundchen, and Cindy Crawford, sharing their memories of Patrick.
