Testino, Mario

▪ 1999

      The publication of the book Any Objections?, Peruvian-born photographer Mario Testino's personal look behind the fashion scene, was eagerly anticipated in 1998. Testino, dubbed the "Super Mario" of the fashion industry, had published his work in some of the world's top fashion monthly magazines, including American, French, and British Vogue, Vanity Fair, W, Allure, The Face, and Dutch Magazine. He also had been widely sought after to shoot advertisements for such fashion companies as Versace, Missoni, Sonia Rykiel, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, and Gap.

      In the May/June issue of American Photo, Testino was ranked number 12 among the industry's 100 most influential people of 1998. His images for Gucci's 1995/96 autumn/winter collection helped Tom Ford relaunch the then-lagging multimillion-dollar-generating Italian luxury leather goods line. Celebrities, too, coveted the chance to work with the photographer. In 1997 Diana, princess of Wales, requested that Testino shoot her image for a Vanity Fair cover story, and in 1998 Testino's photo of the Spice Girls graced the cover of American Vogue. In addition, Madonna's album Ray of Light featured Testino images of her.

      As a permanent fixture on the international fashion-show circuit, Testino was easily recognized. Always seated in a front row at the best shows, he wore natty, colorful clothes and was accompanied by Carine Roitfeld, the striking Parisian fashion stylist who was his most frequent collaborator. Testino's bright, sharp style of photography put an end to the fashion industry's love affair with heroin chic and the accompanying dark, murky images that dominated magazine pages in the early 1990s. "Fashion photography is all about making an image that people desire—so they want to buy the clothes," he maintained. According to the London Telegraph newspaper, Testino's work also helped mute the supermodel trend.

      Testino was born in 1954 in Lima, Peru, of Irish, Spanish, and Italian descent. He found his inspiration, however, in the work of British celebrity and fashion photographer Cecil Beaton and since 1976 has made his home in London. Though Testino had studied law and economics at the University of Lima and international affairs at the University of California, San Diego, he made portfolios for up-and-coming models during the day and worked as a waiter at night. Although he made influential friends quickly, including fashion designer Jasper Conran and celebrity shoemaker Manolo Blahnik, Testino claimed that it was hard work and discipline that propelled him into his position of power. "I made a rule with myself that no matter what time I went to bed, I'd be up at eight and in the office by nine whether I had any work to do or not."

BRONWYN COSGRAVE

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