© by Purple / Photography Terry Richardson / Art Direction Olivier Zahm / Styling Christopher Niquet / Photographer’s assistant David Swanson / Lighting Seth Goldfarb / Digital Technicians Brian Zeigler & Glen Fabian / Stylist’s assistant Malina Joseph / Hair Jimmy Paul at Susan Price Inc. / Make-up Mark Carrasquillo at Art+Commerce / Hair assistant Jordan / Make-up assistant Tussy Yoshida / Manicurist Christina Zuleta at Walter Schupfer for Knock Out / Casting Karleigh Swanson & Anita Bitton at Establishment / Models Abbey Lee Kershaw at Next, Eniko Mihalik at Marilyn, Freja Beha at IMG, Magdalena Frackowiak at DNA»For this issue we decided to go back to a classic fashion shoot, in a studio with supermodels. Not the artists, actresses, or musicians we usually shoot. Simply the beautiful girls we love, who feel free to use their bodies to the best effect. So, with total freedom we return to glamour, to show how much we love real fashion, especially when it’s real playful and spontaneous. Terry and I didn’t brainstorm before the shoot – the visual echoes of late ’70s glam rock, Studio 54, and sexual-revolution ambition was to recall Helmut Newton’s big nudes. And this actually happened organically during the shoot, and without asking permission of the models’ agents, who really don’t fancy nudity all that much these days.
When Terry jumps into the picture, it’s not just a photographer’s gimmick. It’s his way of giving us a sense of the emotions – from loss to elation – he went through during the shoot. How much he put into it. And how much the models gave him in return.« Olivier Zahm