Collection: ELLEN VON UNWERTH

Ellen von Unwerth (German, b.1954) is a photographer and director who began her career as a fashion model. Born in Frankfurt, she started modelling at 20 after being noticed by a photographer on the street, and moved to Paris to pursue the work. During those years she felt the industry was missing an element of freedom. A camera given to her by her boyfriend changed everything — she started shooting her fellow models, including an improvised session in Africa that saw the images published and her passion for photography ignited.

Her break came when Guess hired her to photograph an up-and-coming model named Claudia Schiffer. The shoot created immediate demand for her work across the industry. She went on to shoot for Vogue, Interview, Vanity Fair, The Face, L'Uomo Vogue, i-D and Twill, producing editorial work such as Baccarat II, Paris, 2007 and Halskrause, Berlin 2011.

In 1991 she won first prize at the International Festival of Fashion Photography. Over the years she has photographed some of the most recognisable names in entertainment — including a landmark Madonna shoot for Vogue in 1993 and a widely discussed Drew Barrymore session for Playboy in 1995.

Her album cover credits span three decades: Duran Duran's Liberty (1990), Bananarama's Pop Life (1991), Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope (1997), Dido's Life for Rent (2003), Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics (2006), Britney Spears's Blackout (2007), and Rihanna's Rated R and Talk That Talk.