H
IS FOR HELENA CHRISTENSEN’S
PHOTOGRAPHY
Helena Christensen is the
most famous Scandinavian
model on the planet – but when she
first tried it, aged 20, her plan was to
do it for a month and return to her
true passion of photography.
That month turned into 20 years
in which she graced the cover of
every major fashion magazine, was a
Victoria’s Secret angel, appeared in
the “sexiest music video of all time”
(
Chris Isaak’s
Wicked Game
)
and
peered over New York’s Times Square
from a giant billboard, covered only
by a strategically-placed banana leaf.
But Danish-Peruvian Christensen
has always been about more than just
modelling. She’s served as creative
director of hip fashion magazine
Nylon
,
co-founded a clothes label,
Christensen and Sigerson, designed
a lingerie line for Triumph and acted
as an ambassador for Danish skincare
brand Beauté Pacifique.
And she has returned to
photography in a big way. When
not shooting for the likes of
Vs
and
Vogue,
she has documented
climate change for Oxfam in Peru
and shot Milla Jovovich for Tommy
Hilfiger’s campaign for Breast Health
International.
“
Because I travelled from a very
young age, I think I was always
inspired by passing images,” she says.
“
So you could say the world inspired
me, or life. But I am constantly
inspired by other photographers’
work – Diane Arbus, Irving Penn,
Robert Frank, Mary Ellen Mark…”
Left
⁄
Helena
Christensen, as snapped
by Christy Bush; all other
images are Christensen’s
personal work
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