Testino

Mario Testino (1954). Peruvian photographer of Italian, Irish, and Spanish descent. After graduating from the American School of Lima, he studied economics at the University of the Pacific and law at the Catholic University before moving to California, where he studied international affairs in San Diego. In 1976 he moved to London where he studied photography in a private school. His first published photograph appeared in 1981 in British Vogue, even though he remembers with some irony that it was about the size of a postage stamp. Then, he was obliged to be patient while waiting for success: it finally happened in the 1990s when his photographs of models wearing apparel by Trussardi, Versace, Saint-Laurent and, especially, Gucci were published by Vogue, The Face, Visionaire, W Magazine, and Vanity Fair. His most recent campaigns were in 2002 for Roberto Cavalli and in 2003 for Prada. Thanks to his immediate style, inspired by everyday life, though often characterized by bright colors and a search for feigned tones of provocation, he established himself as a world-class photographer, capable of doing memorable portraits, such as the one he did of Lady Diana, published in Vanity Fair in 1997. He continued his portrait work with photographs of Gwyneth Paltrow, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Jane Birkin, and Madonna. His work has been featured in various exhibitions around the world. He published, in 1998, the book Any Objections, in 1999 he published Front Row/Backstage, in 2000, Party and in 2001, Portraits. In 2001 he did the photography for the Pirelli Calendar, in a high-glamour style.