With the launch of the AnOther Digital Limited Edition in New York tonight, we celebrate the career of fashion's most powerful photographic duo
For the last 25 years, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin have been dictating the standard of fashion photography with beautiful editorials and iconic celebrity covers. Inez and Vinoodh first met in Amsterdam in 1983, where they were both studying fashion design. A slight career turn and a few years later, husband and wife embarked on a collaborative project that is just as innovative today as it was when they joined forces. United by a boundless love for photography, they became renowned in the early 90s for their darkly erotic style and their visionary use of digital manipulation.
We’re excited to reveal that the duo will be hosting the launch of the AnOther Digital Limited Edition at Opening Ceremony in New York this evening, signing copies of the moving magazine cover they created in collaboration with AnOther and Rihanna. To celebrate the event, we revisit the archives to look at some of their greatest cover stories for the magazine, from Jodie Foster and Drew Barrymore to Björk and Rihanna.
Rihanna for AnOther Magazine S/S15
When Rihanna stated that “fashion is completely transformative, it changes everything”, she wasn't exaggerating; her career as pop's superstar has been inextricably intertwined with her boundary-pushing outfits. When her first hit single Pon The Replay debuted, Rihanna was just another 17-year old girl in low-waisted boyfriend jeans and crop tops – but fast forward ten years and she has transformed into a global fashion icon.
Celebrating the world of Alexander McQueen in our S/S15 Present, Past, Future issue, her cover story was shot by Inez and Vinoodh and styled by Lee McQueen's close friend and collaborator Katy England. The series is the perfect exploration of the breadth of McQueen's career and the brand's subsequent evolution under Sarah Burton, incorporating elements from Lee's 1997 Givenchy collection through to pieces custom designed by Burton for the editorial. Not only is the dynamism of the photographic pair and the pop pin-up clearly visible in each individual image, but the Digital Limited Edition also enables readers to watch a moving-image collaboration, accompanied by an exclusive Alexander McQueen playlist from the designer's music director John Gosling for the world's first fully immersive, high-definition moving magazine cover.
Drew Barrymore for AnOther Magazine S/S05
In 2005, Drew Barrymore graced the pages of AnOther Magazine in a gleaming shoot by Inez and Vinoodh, styled in diaphanous white and radiant colour by Alister Mackie. Talking to Alix Browne, Barrymore mused on American politics, quantum physics and a thirst for knowledge that has evolved over her illustrious career: "I'm much more inclined to get involved and learn more and participate, instead of just sitting back and feeling like the dumb one at the table. Because I think that ignorance can make you shy. I understand politics much more now even if it still feels like knives in my organs.”
Jodie Foster for AnOther Magazine A/W05
The Oscar-winning American actress and producer was star of AnOther's A/W05 edition. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jodie Foster started acting at age three and had starred in 20 movies and equally numerous TV shows by the time she was 15. While her talent was apparent from the beginning, over the span of four decades the former child-star turned into a woman respected throughout the industry, briefly stopping just to get a degree from Yale, study French in Paris and build a family, because “working as a child taught me that it was a very workman-like job but a silly thing to do and I didn’t have to do it forever.” In recent years, Foster has been evolving her career and picking up more directing jobs, explaining that “acting is hard for me, but directing, making decisions is okay. I can handle my own decisions.”
Björk for AnOther Magazine A/W10
From the minimalist punk style of her early days with the Sugarcubes to the eccentric swan dress that she wore at the 2001 Academy Awards, Björk has always used fashion as a way to impress. A supporter of emerging talent, Björk helped bring the careers of designers like Martin Margiela and Alexander McQueen into mainstream consciousness and has become an icon of both pop and counter culture simultaneously. Inez and Vinoodh started collaborating with Björk in the mid-90s, long before they photographed her for AnOther's 2010 cover story but their intimate relationship is communicated through the pictures: a sublime editorial that finds Björk dancing on the beaches of Long Island like a futuristic goddess, in perfect harmony with her transcendental musical style.
The AnOther Digital Limited Edition is available to buy here. Inez & Vinoodh: Pretty Much Everything 2015 is at Fotografiska from June 12.
