An image from Martin Parr's new Cannes shoot for Gucci

Martin Parr swaps Clacton for Cannes, courtesy of Gucci

The photographer headed to the French Riviera to shoot the fashion house's latest campaign

In comparison to other beach resorts Martin Parr  has shot, Cannes, on the french Mediterranean is, the British photographer admits, “a bit posh.”

He first visited a quarter of a century ago, to shoot the film festival. “It was crazy then and I am sure it’s even crazier now,” he says. “I don’t think it’s really changed in its essence.”

 

An image from Martin Parr's new Cannes shoot for Gucci
An image from Martin Parr's new Cannes shoot for Gucci

He should know, as he’s returned to the town to shoot his own, slightly fictionalised fashion shoot, for Gucci. The shoot, which the fashion house has published in a limited-edition photobook named after a New Order song, World (The Price of Love), features Cannes citizens, as well as some pretty incredible Gucci clothing, taken from the label’s 2019 Cruise collection.

 

An image from Martin Parr's new Cannes shoot for Gucci
An image from Martin Parr's new Cannes shoot for Gucci

The addition of fashion samples might have upset some of Parr grittier shoots, but in this case, adding in the garments wasn’t too much of a stretch. “I try to incorporate the Gucci clothing and our characters into the backdrop of Cannes,” he explains over on the Gucci site. “It’s the sort of person you would really see there.”

 

Martin Parr
Martin Parr

To see more of Martin’s work, buy this book; for more on his interest in photobooks, take a look at this collection.