Steven Meisel

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Steven Meisel has firmly established himself as a titan of fashion photography, with a celebrated career that has significantly shaped the industry’s visual landscape. Esteemed by fashion icons like Anna Wintour and the late Franca Sozzani, Meisel’s influence is particularly pronounced in Italian fashion, evidenced by his long-standing tenure as the exclusive photographer for every Italian Vogue cover for the past two decades and his role in capturing every Prada campaign since 2004.

Meisel’s journey into the world of fashion began as an illustrator for Halston, balancing his creative endeavors with teaching illustration at Parsons The New School for Design. His transition to photography was marked by a stint at Women’s Wear Daily in the 1970s, during which he cultivated a passion for capturing images, spending weekends photographing models from Elite Management in his Gramercy Park apartment or on the streets of New York.

This passion project eventually caught the attention of Seventeen magazine, leading to Meisel’s first editorial assignment and catapulting him into the fashion photography spotlight. His impressive client roster has come to include the likes of Versace, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, and Calvin Klein, among others.

Meisel’s work is characterized by a steadfast commitment to his unique aesthetic vision, often sparking conversations with thought-provoking and sometimes controversial fashion stories. His dedication to using fashion photography as a platform to comment on broader social issues is exemplified in his work on Italian Vogue’s all-black issue in 2008 and other memorable editorials that challenge conventional narratives. These projects reflect Meisel’s ambition not just to capture beauty, but to make statements that resonate beyond the fashion industry, earning him a revered place among the greats of fashion photography.