Steven Meisel American photographer Country: USA

Biography of Steven Meisel

Steven Meisel is an American photographer renowned for his work in American and Italian Vogue and his photographs for Madonna's book "Sex". From an early age, Meisel was drawn to beauty in all its forms, particularly female models. Instead of playing with toys, he preferred drawing, focusing solely on depictions of women. He found inspiration for his drawings in magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Meisel's ideal of female beauty was embodied by socialites such as Gloria Guinness and Babe Paley, but he also held his mother and sister in high regard.

At the age of 12, Meisel became fascinated with popular models like Twiggy, Veruschka, and Jean Shrimpton. This fascination grew into a serious passion, and he persuaded his friends to connect with modeling agencies to obtain photographs of his "beauty queens" through deception. Meisel studied at the High School of Art and Design and Parsons The New School for Design. Initially unsure about his career path, a conversation with Ingrid Sischy from French Vogue convinced him to pursue a course in fashion illustration.

Meisel worked with renowned fashion designer Halston for a period of time, while also teaching part-time at Parsons. During this time, he never considered a career as a photographer, despite being impressed by the works of masters like Jerry Schatzberg, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, and Bert Stern. Eventually, Meisel realized that pure illustration was becoming outdated, with the future belonging to photography. He decided to try his hand at photography.

Some models he worked with showcased their photographs in Seventeen magazine, catching the attention of the editorial team who offered Meisel a job. Currently, Meisel collaborates with a range of well-known fashion retailers, such as American and Italian Vogue, for whom he has been shooting covers for almost 20 years. His work has also appeared on several popular album and single covers, including Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and Mariah Carey's "Daydream".

Meisel has collaborated with several notable fashion houses and designers, including Versace, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, and Prada since 2004. He is also a close friend of Anna Sui, for whom he has done several photoshoot series, even though Sui rarely uses advertising to promote her creations. Meisel actively collaborates with Pascal Dangin as well. Meisel is regarded as one of the most influential photographers in the contemporary fashion industry. He is credited with "discovering" many renowned models, such as Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Lara Stone, and others. His fame is largely attributed to his advertising campaigns for Vogue, Prada, and similar brands. Meisel's influence extended to more significant achievements as well, as he played a crucial role in the release of a Vogue issue featuring exclusively black models.