The art of fashion photography: Behind the scenes of a photo shoot

Thierry-Maxime Loriot curated the various iterations of the travelling exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, which enjoyed historic success, Love Is Love: Wedding Bliss For All à la Jean Paul Gaultier, and JPG from A to Z presented in the French pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai in 2022, for a total of 17 exhibitions dedicated to the enfant terrible of French fashion. He also curated international travelling exhibitions including Peter Lindbergh: A Different Vision on Fashion Photography, two editions of Viktor & Rolf: Fashion Artists, Thierry Mugler: Couturissime, and Viktor & Rolf Fashion Statements, presented at the Munich Kunsthalle in Germany until October 2024, in addition to writing over fifteen publications to accompany these projects. In 2019, he received the CAFA (Canadian Arts and Fashion Award) Vanguard Award for his significant contributions to the arts and fashion industries. The exhibitions that he has designed and organized have been visited by over 6 million people to date.

After completing her doctoral studies in cancer research in Geneva and Québec City, Cristina Gareau turned her well-defined career path on its head when she succumbed to the lure of nature, creativity, and adventure. Since then, she has perfected an approach that celebrates youth, carefreeness, nonchalance, unconventionality, and freedom. Her portraits are devoid of artifice to make way for the world of dreams. She advocates for the natural attributes of women, paying no heed to conventional beauty standards, in the hope that women can recognize themselves in the moments she captures rather than in the digital world dominated by luxury and celebrities.

For Gareau, life is a quest for balance between extremes; a quest that has taken her on a search for beauty in the contrast between peaceful decors and untamed locations. Brought to photography by her two seemingly opposite passions for arts and science, Gareau aims to get the most out of the photography techniques required to capture an image by combining them with her ineffable ability to convey an emotion.

Growing up in a globetrotting family, Xavier Tera dreamed of making movies, taking pictures and travelling from a young age. It all clicked when his mother bought him a Pentax camera for his nine-year birthday. The work of the visionary photographer and director strikes a delicate balance between fiction and reality, as well as cultural identities and diversity, thus creating a distinct narrative. His skillfully built, surrealism-tinged images have showcased musical celebrities such as Harry Styles, Kaytranada and Rosalía and graced advertisements for Moncler, Nike and Burberry, not to mention Adidas (with Zinédine Zidane, David Beckham and Hoyeon Jung), earning him many praises and awards.

Discussing the unique narrative of his images, Tera says he wants to touch the viewers straight to the heart in the hope that they understand and take in the presented scenes. Whether it is Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, director Michael Mann in a moment of intimacy, Jeremy O. Harris in a kaleidoscope of lights or a reflective nun at the airport, Tera prioritizes the subject, explaining that he cannot separate people from their story.

Lolitta has been working in the fashion industry for almost 20 years. She was fashion editor-in-chief at Filles magazine, Clin d’ œil and then clindoeil.ca, before launching her own blog, fashioniseverywhere.com. Today, she has become a key figure in Canadian fashion and is active in several areas of the industry. She writes columns for different publications, hosts events and creates content on social media. Lolitta also has a close relationship with local fashion schools, where she teaches fashion history and is a regular guest lecturer. Her latest project: she’s the production designer and co-host of the TV show Tout le monde s’habille, which reflects her vision of fashion and the importance of clothing in understanding our society.

You can follow her on social media (@lolittadandoy).