(Paris) Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman and Princess Diana passed in front of her lens: a key figure in the world of fashion, before being overtaken by accusations of sexual harassment, Patrick Demarchelier died at the age of 78 years old.
Posted yesterday at 10:24 a.m.
The announcement of his death was made overnight from Thursday to Friday on the certified Instagram account of this photo caption: “It is with great sadness that we announce the disappearance of Patrick Demarchelier on March 31, 2022, at the age of 78”.
“He leaves behind his wife Mia, his three sons Gustaf, Arthur, Victor and three grandchildren,” the publication continues.
A pillar of fashion photography, he has mainly worked for two magazines: the Harper’s Bazaar and the American edition of voguebefore working for major fashion brands including Chanel, Dior and Armani.
During his 40-year career, he posed for the greatest top models of the 90s, including Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, while photographing Hollywood icons such as Nicole Kidman, then pregnant, or Madonna. But he will above all have been the personal photographer of “Lady Di”, the Princess of Wales.
Harassment charges
Inseparable from the world of fashion, his name had been mentioned several times in the film The devil wears Pradasatire of this sector where Meryl Streep portrays a character inspired by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of the American edition of vogue.
This same world had distanced itself from him as early as 2018 when several women accused him of sexual harassment. The American Daily The Boston Globe had published in February this year the testimonies of seven women, including one of the former assistants of the photographer.
Patrick Demarchelier has always denied the facts, but the Condé Nast group (particularly owner of vogue, Glamour…) had terminated their working relationship. On his Instagram account, the magazine vogue relayed his death by linking to an article recounting his career, but did not comment.
“Rest in peace Patrick Demarchelier. Thank you for all these good memories and these magical and timeless photos, ”responded Cindy Crawford on Instagram. “Patrick…always in my heart. Rest in peace, ”completed Friday, on the same social network, Linda Evangelista.
Other short reactions followed, like that of the ex-model and former first lady Carla Bruni, splitting a “REST IN PEACE” (rest in peace, editor’s note). Ditto for the American stylist Vera Wang.
“Brilliant portrait painter”
“His style, both spontaneous and direct, but imbued with mastery and technique, is something that has always fascinated me about him,” wrote Italian stylist Giorgio Armani on Twitter, praising one of the great masters of portraiture.
Same tone on the side of the Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion, which praises “brilliant portraitist”.
Born in Le Havre (Normandy), he began photography at the age of 17. At 20, he moved to Paris to realize his dream: to become a fashion photographer. Dream that will take him to New York in 1975, where he will start as a photographer’s assistant before starting to photograph for the fashion bible: vogue.
A star is born. He imposes his style in the biggest fashion magazines: Harper’s Bazaar, vogue, She… A style that he claims to be simple and uncluttered: “People like Bourdin or Newton bring the subject back to themselves, I fade away […] I prefer that it is the subject who expresses himself, ”he confided to the newspaper. The world in 2008 when the Petit Palais devoted an exhibition to him.
Time after time, women are immortalized wrinkle-free, slim and happy. But of these photos, the most iconic are those of Princess Diana. The most emblematic series is the one published by the British Vogue. It was following this series that he would become his personal portrait painter, thus becoming the first photographer of the British royal family who was not English.
In 2005, he signed the famous Pirelli cult calendar. A consecration for many fashion photographers.