Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland

All you need to know about Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland

Revel in the fashion photography created by one of the medium’s true contemporary greats

Annie Leibovitz began her career at Rolling Stone, shooting the world’s best loved musicians, and is now, decades later, one of America’s most highly regarded photographers, celebrated across the world, from The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, to Hauser & Wirth in Los Angeles, to Luma Arles in southern France.

In the past, Leibovtiz has trained her lens on war zones, rocket launches, rock gods and heads of state. Yet there’s one common thread uniting her consistently brilliant, yet widely varied body of work.

“Looking back at my work, I see that fashion has always been there,” Annie Leibovitz observes in the preface to her new book, Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland. “Fashion plays a part in the scheme of everything, but photography always comes first for me. The photograph is the most important part. And photography is so big that it can encompass journalism, portraiture, reportage, family photographs, fashion. . . . My work for Vogue fueled the fire for a kind of photography that I might not otherwise have explored.”

This new title explores that side of her practice for the first time, by reproducing more than 350 photographs, featuring a wide array of subjects, including Cate Blanchett, Serena Williams and Nicole Kidman; as well as the Queen of England and a good few First Ladies (not to mention Nancy Pelosi).

Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, has contributed a foreword to this remarkable new book, in which she discusses Leibovitz’s place in fashion photography. Elsewhere, Leibovitz herself guides the reader through this wide variety of imagery, via her own preface and incidental texts, that add character and insight to a truly beguiling set of images.

 

 Annie Leibovitz, 2012. Picture credit: © Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz, 2012. Picture credit: © Annie Leibovitz

 

Edited and sequenced by Annie herself, the journey through the collected images shows just how the photographer has come to embrace the world of fashion, and bend it to her vision.
Reproductions of the magazine spreads in which the photographs first appeared allow the reader to experience the images as they were originally presented—including complete fashion stories that appeared over multiple glossy pages. Indeed, these images comprise about a third of the book’s images – of which nearly 80% have not been published since their original appearance.

Followers of Alexander McQueen, Rei Kawakubo, and Yves Saint Laurent, will admire the way Leibovitz weaves these designer’s works into her own. Those familiar with the world’s top models will be able to pick out Stella McCartney, Kate Moss and Natalia Vodianova, as well as others in these pages, as well as faces we might not immediately associate with the runway, such as the artists John Currin and Matthew Barney, the poet Amanda Gorman and the politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

 

Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland
Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland

 

The book is the perfect addition to any photo collector’s library; fine art enthusiasts will enjoy the way in which Leibovitz applies her inimitable image-making practice in this distinguished realm; and of course, anyone with a feel for fashion will appreciate a trip into Leibovitz’s wonderland. To find out more and order your copy go here.