NOW! WHAT MAY JUST BE THE BEST EVER FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK! AND WE CAN SAY THAT. BECAUSE IT WAS PRADA WHO COMMISSIONED GLEN, AND GLEN WHO SPENT TWO YEARS OF HIS LIFE MAKING THE PICTURES. DAVID JAMES ART DIRECTED THE CAMPAIGNS AND EZRA PETRONIO DESIGNED THIS BOOK. WE REALLY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING*
*OTHER THAN DECLARE IT A MASTERWORK :)
Seriously special. And just in time for Christmas. A totally perfect book just landed in 2020. It's a miracle.
Just so iconic. The book's text (5000 words, thank you!) is a transcript of a conversation between Glen and Lou Stoppard. Glen tells the story of these famous fashion images.
"We worked with Cinecittà Studios, where they made all the Fellini movies—they still have an amazing art department there. They are really fine technicians, real artisans. So, when I brought in my little screen grab print out of the kid running through the snow maze in The Shining and said I wanted to build this, they said fine. They drew it out on paper, a rough sketch and then they went away and engineered it—they had to figure out the perspective and the length, which they did really well. They spent a week building it, while we were doing the other shots—they brought in like two tonnes of rock salt because that gives you the best snow texture. They were putting in all the little olive branches into the wall individually, creating this maze effect. They were spraying it with this foam that’s used on aeroplanes, because that also gives a good snow texture."
The book has special insert sections printed on Chromolux paper. Ezra Petronio masterminded a simple solution; the campaign pictures run on the full pages while the contact sheets, outtakes, location shots and lighting tests are printed in the inserts.
So you get to see test shots of very, very famous photographs.
And of course. The great work itself.
The contacts. Glen is great on the detail of just how hard it was to catch the light on the rowing boat picture, and, on the famed Amber Valletta floating picture, how hard it was on the model.
“I did feel sorry for Amber. That water was actually full of these little red wriggly worms that were absolutely disgusting. As I was shooting it, I just remember thinking, if I were her I would be freaking out. They were going in her ears up her bum, everywhere. But we only had five minutes of light—and she just did it, she just lay back. She would have done it for hours and hours.”
Yes. Willem Dafoe on the insert page. But also so Prada. That shirt and tie. Achingly nineties Prada.
Willem meet Joaquim Phoenix. Where the magnified contact print works so well with the page behind it. We can probably tell; we are very proud of this book. Vogue just published a great interview with Glen all about the book. You can read that here.
Gets all super saturated as the location photos come into play.
There's Miu Miu too. Glen was exclusive to Prada and Miu Miu and therefore Miuccia during these two years.
"I was given a unique situation where I had this amazing patron in Miuccia, who was up for it. I was expecting to go to the first meeting with her and say I really want to do this, and tell her about all the films, and she would say, you are crazy, go into the studio, but she didn’t. She pushed me to do even more... When I arrived for my first meeting with Miuccia, I really imagined that she wouldn’t be keen on anything, but I found her response to be so invigorating, that when I left to get on the plane home I was literally as high as a kite."
Glen pitched an idea to Prada to shoot with the dancers of the Pina Bausch studio. The pictures never ran. But they are fabulous. And they are in the book. Everything is :)
Love a good back cover. And this is as good as it gets. Big thank you to Glen, Ezra, Lou, Prada, our printers and everyone who helped on this book. It is a dream.
The first few hundred copies have arrived in London. It will be in the newly reopened Dover Street Market tomorrow (Friday). Next week, DSMNY and DSMLA and as soon as possible all the most brilliant stores worldwide.
The edition is 1000 copies. Price is £95. There may not be enough copies (as we very quickly discovered with Ibiza '89 ) but its short run can only make it more desirable, more special - and it deserves to be that.
Copies for sale online now on the button below. Courier shipping from Friday but best assume Monday and all through next week for a despatch date. This could be a busy one. Hit the button!
XMAS OF THE SUPERBOOKS. YOU WILL NEVER GIVE A BETTER GIFT THAN YOGA FOR MEN, DISCO BEAUTY, FULL RUN OF SUPREME, THE COCAINE CONSUMER'S HANDBOOK, FRESH HIP HOP, LARRY CLARK 1992 AND THE ALIEN MOVIE NOVEL!!! BREATHLESS.
Probably is the best selection of books and amazines at any one time in any one place in the whole history of the world.
IDEA SIGNATURE STORE! THE ORIGINAL 2010 SOLD OUT DAVE SWINDELLS BOOK SIGNED! PARADISO STILLS SIGNED! TOM WOOD AND ARI MARCOPOULOS AND AMY ARBUS. ALL SIGNED. AND OVER ONE HUNDRED MORE ON THE STORE.
Twenty times WOW and so many more on the button below.
STARTING TO WONDER HOW YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR ALL OF THESE BOOKS?! HAVE SOMEONE GIFT YOU A GIFTCARD. COMES IN DIGITAL VERSION AND / OR REAL PLASTIC FERGADELIC CARD FLECKED WITH WHAT APPEARS TO BE COCAINE (BUT ISN'T, OBVS).
IDEA Christmas decoration GIF not included - just getting in practice :)
THE DEPOP SPECIAL SUPER STAR ITEM THIS WEEK. THE ORIGINAL PROGRAMME FOR MICHAEL CLARK AND THE FALL'S I AM CURIOUS, ORANGE FROM 1988. LIKE, HELLO REAL RARENESS!
Depop is easy. Just download the app from the App Store and you will automatically be following IDEA. Then buy books and mags and bags!
