Supermodels, actresses, musicians stood in front of his camera – and he was the star behind them: Patrick Demarchelier photographed numerous celebrities for decades and thus became one of the best-known photographers in the industry. He died in March of this year at the age of 78.
During his lifetime, Demarchelier prepared a retrospective together with the Berlin gallery “Camera Work” in which his work from three decades can be seen. Many of the 42 photographs are being shown in an exhibition for the first time. These are motifs that have made Demarchelier famous: portraits of supermodels like Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer or Stephanie Seymour, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. They were created in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Demarchelier was also one of the photographers who defined the supermodel era.
The native Frenchman discovered his love for photography at the age of 17 when he was given his first camera. In the beginning friends and family members served as motives. In the 1960s he finally moved to Paris to work in photo laboratories. But the French capital was only a stopover: Patrick Demarchelier lived in New York from 1975, where he initially worked as an assistant for the Swiss photographer Hans Feurer. Through him came the contact to the fashion magazine “Vogue”. Just one of the well-known magazines Demarchelier has been hired by throughout his career. Luxury labels such as Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuitton also booked the French for their advertising campaigns.
Patrick Demarchelier also portrayed Princess Diana
Patrick Demarchelier received a special honor in 1989: Princess Diana is said to have contacted him personally and asked him to take portraits of her after seeing his pictures on the cover of “Vogue”. The Princess of Wales was photographed in black and white in 1990 and showed her in a strapless dress with a tiara and pearl necklace. At that time Demarchelier was the first non-British photographer who was allowed to officially portray a member of the English royal family.
In 2018, a report by the “Boston Globe” cast a shadow over his illustrious career: More than 50 male and female models made serious allegations against fashion photographers, including Demarchelier. The Frenchman denied the allegations, but the publisher Condé Nast, which publishes Vogue among other things, ended the collaboration.
Patrick Demarchelier largely withdrew from the public eye. After his death he left his wife Mia and three sons.
the Exhibition “Patrick Demarchelier” can be seen in the Berlin gallery “Camera Work” until November 19, 2022