One of the foremost fashion photographers and leading celebrity portraitists of the late 20th century Demarchelier – who died aged 78, at his holiday home on Saint Barthelemy in the Caribbean, on March 31 – also lent his unmistakable style to elegant fashion editorials across several generations of supermodels, including Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss and Karlie Kloss.
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A self-taught photographer, Demarchelier experienced success early in his career and was already shooting for Vogue in his early thirties. In 1975, he moved from his native France to the United States, setting up a studio in New York. The photographer quickly became a favourite of America’s leading fashion glossies, not only due to the quality of his pictures, but also thanks an easy-going efficiency that would come to be Demarchelier’s trademark.
Known for working swiftly and doing whatever it took to get the shot, fashion editors appreciated Demarchelier for his straightforward, cost-effective set-ups and nimble approach. Eschewing elaborate staging, he generally photographed against a simple background and would happily swap a fastidiously lit studio for an unplanned exterior setting, if that’s what it took to achieve results.
“I loved working with Patrick,” 1980s supermodel Christie Brinkley commented on Twitter. “I just loved him. He was a creative genius but in a casual seemingly effortless way.”
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For decades, Demarchelier collaborated with Vogue creative director Grace Coddington. Demarchelier was “a consummate professional, a tireless worker with a generous spirit, and lovely to be around”, Coddington said back in 2016. “He can happily fit into any situation; he can shoot indoors or out, with a model or an actress; and he never fails to produce a gorgeous photograph.”
Some fashion photographers, obsessed with the artistry of their images, neglect to properly display the garments in a shoot. Demarchelier, however, never lost sight of the fact that the objective of a fashion editorial was to showcase designers’ work.
“Photographers have to make the clothes look fantastic, that’s why we get paid,” he remarked during a 2012 interview. Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Versace, Celine and Calvin Klein were just some of the commercial clients who engaged Demarchelier to do just that.Who were the best and worst dressed stars of the Oscars 2022?
Marring his legacy, the final years of Demarchelier’s life and career were clouded by allegations of sexual misconduct. These were levelled against the photographer in 2018 by several models and a former assistant in interviews with The Boston Globe. Although Demarchelier called the accusations “pure lying”, following reports of the allegations, most publications and brands ceased working with him.
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