Photo Günther Parth 1996
Sometimes, less was more.
Sometimes, less was more.
I have to admit, I was never too coy when it came to my naked body. I didn´t think it was particularly beautiful nor ugly, save for a mild bout of anorexia when I was a teenager. It didn´t last too long, I guess I´m more the "I´d rather eat Italian, than wear Italian" type. Which might say something about italian designers, too.
The first nude happened to be shot in Greece, on a class trip after my graduation. He was called Danny, came from San Francisco and was really cute. I felt extremely grown-up and more than ready for a rebellious act. We slept on the beach under a starry sky, and clothes felt quite superfluous, save for an indian silk scarf in pink and curry that had belonged to my mother before. My first daughter cut it up to fashion an evening dress for herself when she was two years old.
The first nude happened to be shot in Greece, on a class trip after my graduation. He was called Danny, came from San Francisco and was really cute. I felt extremely grown-up and more than ready for a rebellious act. We slept on the beach under a starry sky, and clothes felt quite superfluous, save for an indian silk scarf in pink and curry that had belonged to my mother before. My first daughter cut it up to fashion an evening dress for herself when she was two years old.
The second picture that I recall was taken by Günther Parth for a-head Magazine in 1996. Desiree Heiss was the stylist, and she put me in a see-through chiffon dress previously worn by Dagmar Koller. I don´t know what Daggi wore under it, I only wore naked skin and scent - probably Diorissimo, which was an apt, if unintentional, choice.
Günther Parth, 1996
That was the same year I started working for Helmut Lang, as an assistant to the assistant. Having been his fitting model before, I was used to dress and undress in front of whoever would be present. Only speed counted. Naked bodies were of no interest to anyone unless they came in form of Nan Goldin photos. Now that would have been a life goal.
In 1997 I met Tino, father of my second child (it´s complicated) and quitted my job to become a fashion stylist. Obviously, fourteen-hours-a-day-jobs were inconsistent with long-distance relationships. I was young enough to think that chances and rose petals would continue to line my path (remember Barneys?). I met Lisa, Lisa Holzer, and we immediately bonded. Tino was - and still is - an industrial designer, and we took pictures of his products.
That was the same year I started working for Helmut Lang, as an assistant to the assistant. Having been his fitting model before, I was used to dress and undress in front of whoever would be present. Only speed counted. Naked bodies were of no interest to anyone unless they came in form of Nan Goldin photos. Now that would have been a life goal.
In 1997 I met Tino, father of my second child (it´s complicated) and quitted my job to become a fashion stylist. Obviously, fourteen-hours-a-day-jobs were inconsistent with long-distance relationships. I was young enough to think that chances and rose petals would continue to line my path (remember Barneys?). I met Lisa, Lisa Holzer, and we immediately bonded. Tino was - and still is - an industrial designer, and we took pictures of his products.
Photos by Lisa Holzer. Chair and record covers by Tino Valentinitsch.
In 1998, I started to hate fashion and Vienna´s fashion scene alike. With a passion. Styling sessions got more and more about using as few garments as possible. It was all about feelings, raw emotions, and clothes got in the way of that. Lisa started doing funny little things with Play-Doh, wrapping paper, combining skin tones with day-glo and feminine details with a child-like, playful mood.
In 1998, I started to hate fashion and Vienna´s fashion scene alike. With a passion. Styling sessions got more and more about using as few garments as possible. It was all about feelings, raw emotions, and clothes got in the way of that. Lisa started doing funny little things with Play-Doh, wrapping paper, combining skin tones with day-glo and feminine details with a child-like, playful mood.
Photos by Lisa Holzer.
People who needed girls unafraid to undress started to ask me. I was uncomplicated and would have done almost anything for a good picture.
People who needed girls unafraid to undress started to ask me. I was uncomplicated and would have done almost anything for a good picture.
Photo by Jork Weismann and Alois Schweighofer for i-D magazine "Beyond Price", 1999.
1999 was the year of my personal apocalypse. I think you can see it in my gaze. I was hurting and heart-broken and grief-stricken.
1999 was the year of my personal apocalypse. I think you can see it in my gaze. I was hurting and heart-broken and grief-stricken.
In 2001, I had my first daughter. I was exuberantly happy, until, two years later, her father and me separated, and I wasn´t. Unit-f asked Lisa and me to provide pictures for an exhibition. We decided to do them about womanhood and all its facets, and chose me as the subject. Lisa photographed me in my wedding dress and my ex-husband´s wedding suit. Clothes were talismans, they only served as hints for the story we wanted to tell. I felt thin-skinned and fragile, and naked skin emphasized that.
Lisa Holzer, Vögel. 2003.
Better times came. Tino chose me as his muse, silently chess-playing with Marc Paulin, shot by Lisa, our partner-in-crime for so many years. Probably for Unit-f´s All Season Fashion Paper.
Better times came. Tino chose me as his muse, silently chess-playing with Marc Paulin, shot by Lisa, our partner-in-crime for so many years. Probably for Unit-f´s All Season Fashion Paper.
Fabrics Interseason did a book on their work, and asked their collaborators to shoot them naked. Which was a good thing, as I was the officialy worst-dressed person in Paris in 2006 when doing the styling for their show Product Placement. I´m still reeling from this memory.
Photo by Bettina Kommenda. 2006.
I got fabulous Petar Petrov boots in 2012. Seriously, what else do you need to be dressed? Elegance is refusal, as they say.
I got fabulous Petar Petrov boots in 2012. Seriously, what else do you need to be dressed? Elegance is refusal, as they say.
Nowadays, the only nudes that exist of me are sketches. By Fanni. With a cigarette. And a drink. Which is so accurate might be a photo as well.
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