They're Not Your Girls Next Door
Fashion and fetish in a female fantasyland
Limited to 1,500 numbered copies, each signed by the photographer
Ellen von Unwerth was a supermodel before the term was invented, so she knows a thing or two about photographing beautiful women. Now one of the world’s most original and successful fashion photographers, she pays homage to the world‘s most delectable females in Fräulein. This celebration of our era’s sexiest female icons.
An instant collector‘s item: Switching effortlessly between color and immaculate black and white, von Unwerth‘s photography revels in sexual intrigue, femininity, romance, fetishism, kitsch humor, decadence and sheer joie de vivre. Whether nude or in lingerie and a dazzling smile, her subjects are never objectified. Some flaunt personal fantasies; others are guarded, suggesting that we have stumbled into a secret world. Fashion and fantasy were never so enchantingly combined. These images were shot over the last 15 years and many are previously unpublished.
JOHNNY MISHEFF I love this book! It's gorgeous and really huge and there's so much fantastic energy, color, and imagination! I'd love to hear what the idea behind it was...
ELLEN VON UNWERTH Oh thank you! Yes, it is very beautiful. So I got very inspired by Berlin. The whole 1920s thing, the Berlin Cabaret thing, the whole nightlife of Berlin in the '20s... And suddenly the word Fraulein came to mind. I thought it's such a great title, because it's all about women and celebrating them. I wanted to make a huge selection of different kinds of pictures, not only of fashion, but portraiture, all kinds of women from models to actresses, young and old.
JM There's a wonderful variety of subjects. It's alllll about the women.
EVU Yeah, I prefer to shoot women. I love the whole make up and the hair and the whole fashion thing. Men are a little bit boooring. [Laughs] It doesn't have the whole fantasy element. I love to shoot men too, though, maybe the next book...
JM Oh fantastic. We'd love to see that! So, you've done videos and films and commercials, which makes a lot of sense. Your still photos have such a film-noir quality to them...
EVU When I look at my contact sheets it's almost like a movie because I love to have the models play and act and play with things and be really lively in front of the camera. I don't really like posed pictures. So in a way it's very natural for me to work with film. I do lots of little movies and commercials... I want to get more into it. I have an idea for a long movie, but it's always, "Oh, this and that and I have another photo shoot to do," you know, being busy so much, it's hard to do a project so big.
JM Ingrid Sischy writes in the foreword for your book about the passion and energy you have towards shooting. It's so apparent in the images you create, there's an obvious relationship between you and your subjects that's totally infectious. I'm so curious about your process for creating an environment where the model feels free and opens up to you and then takes it all off.
EVU Well you know, it has a lot to do with the casting, I have to really feel the girls and be on the same wavelength with the girls. I always look for a little devil in the eyes. Personality and fun and a little bit naughty helps too... That's really important for me. The way I shoot, it's not a big huge set up. I just kind of grab the camera and let them go. I always encourage them to come out and be open and free. I love also to have more than one girl, which is a problem often because the agent always says, "Oh no she doesn't do doubles," and it's kind of a pain!
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