An artichoke hiding a face; a girl balancing on a miniature racetrack; an eldery lady looking lost. Not what one immedietely expects from haute couture – the most luxurious event in the fashion calendar. These remarkable documentative images were taken by model Marte Mei van Hasster exclusively for AnOther, providing a unique insight into the world of haute couture.
Born in Holland, van Hasster originally wanted to work as a designer and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Arts in Holland but put her studies on hold when she was scouted by a model agent, aged 19. She has since appeared in runway shows for Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Chanel, and in Lanvin's S/S12 campaign.
Cast for both the Chanel and Armani Privé shows, van Hasster carried her automatic Pentax with flash and a SLR Mamiya at all times, capturing intimate moments with her model friends, at castings, backstage, at her apartment and on the streets of Paris. "Chanel was one of my personal highlights of Paris couture", van Hasster told AnOther. "The show is always like being transported into a different world within three seconds and than back again. My mother was also in Paris for a week which made it very special."
Text by Laura Bradley
