Costume, tradition, gender play, portraiture, photojournalism, and fashion collide as Testino observes masculinity in all its modern manifestations: through the dandy and the gentleman, the macho and the fey, the world-famous face to the unknown passerby.Įvery photograph represents a unique point of view, and a new visual connection between photographer and sitter. In SIR the influential photographer presents over 300 photographs in his search to define the allure of men.įeaturing an essay by Pierre Borhan, an interview with Patrick Kinmonth, and many previously unpublished works from Testino’s archive of thousands, this book traces the evolution of male identity over the past three decades. It is a subject that has come into focus: The masculine image, a man’s personal style, changing attitudes to the male face and body.”įrom Rio to London, Cusco to Seville, Mario Testino is renowned for his free-spirited chronicles of dress and demeanor. I adore how playful and mischievous the princess looks in these shots, how fun loving she clearly was.“The way men are seen in photography, in fashion, and the way that men look at pictures of themselves has changed in recent years. When Diana showed the photographs to her butler Paul Burrell, she asked, ‘Don’t you think I look a little like Marilyn Monroe?’ I actually think there’s hints of Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis and, most particularly, Princess Grace of Monaco here as well. Later, she was to recall that the shoot with Mario Testino, an eminently skilled photographer whose flattering and seductive eye is to modern celebrity photography what Madame Vigée Lebrun was to Marie Antoinette and the luminaries of her court, as ‘One of the happiest days of my entire life’. They were destined to act as publicity for the upcoming sale of some of Diana’s dresses at Christies but now have a greater significance as the final formal photographs taken of the princess.

This set of photographs was taken in an old school in Battersea in 1997, just five months before the princess’ tragic death. How beautiful are these stunning photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales by Mario Testino? I defy anyone (okay, almost everyone, I try not to think about the fact that there’s a tough crowd out there) not to look at these images and think ‘Oh, wow, she really WAS a beauty.’

Mario testino photo