Robert Fairer

Robert Fairer (born 1966) is a British fashion photographer who is known for his backstage photography in the 1990s until the 2010s.[1] Working for American Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar, his behind-the-scenes shots of supermodels, fashion designers, makeup artists, hair stylists and accessories designers would come to define the magazines 'front of the book'.[2] His first solo exhibition 'Robert Fairer Backstage Pass: Dior, Galliano, Jacobs, and McQueen' was held at SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion.[3] His work is included in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Victoria and has been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Design Museum, Musée national des beaux‑arts du Québec, LACMA, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the National Gallery of Victoria.[3][4]

Robert Fairer
Born1966 (age 56–57)
NationalityBritish
OccupationPhotographer

Early life and career

Fairer was born in 1966 in London. He grew up on King's Road, and was never without a camera.[5] Being part of London's emerging art and fashion scene in the 1980s and 1990s, he began photographing friends and was encouraged to pursue a career in photography. Fascinated by wildlife photography, he traveled to Africa for three months with a telephoto lens to document the animals on the savannah.[6] With the help of his wife and agent, he gained access to London Graduate Week in 1992, and photographed the Central Saint Martins graduate show which featured the collection of Lee Alexander McQueen. Fairer graduated from London School of Printing in 1993, and soon became a household name at fashion week in London, Milan, Paris and New York. With his Hasselblad camera, he discovered the backstage area by chance and began photographing behind the scenes beauty stories and supermodels minutes before they walked onto the catwalk.[7] He was one of the only backstage photographers and the stories didn't exist in the fashion magazines at the time. He used a 35mm camera and changed to medium format in the 1990s before changing to digital. He would try to sell his stories after the catwalk shows and bring a suitcase with transparencies and a portable lightbox to magazine editors including Fashion Editor Isabella Blow at Vogue magazine and Terry Jones at i-D magazine. From 1995 to 2001 he worked as a contributing photographer for Elle UK, Harper's Bazaar US and InStyle magazine.[8] In 2001 he was hired by American Vogue and became the magazine's contracted lensman working with Editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Fashion Editor André Leon Talley on backstage, runway, editorial, celebrity and wedding stories. Directed to capture "life in the pictures," his backstage photographs would cover up to 15 pages in Vogue's front of book.[9] Having exclusive backstage access for a decade was made to a halt with the 2009 recession and arrival of social media.[10]

Fairer began digitizing his archive after working with the Victoria & Albert Museum on their publication accompanying the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition in 2015.[11][12]

He has published five books devoted to his backstage photography. In 2021 his first solo exhibition 'Robert Fairer Backstage Pass: Dior, Galliano, Jacobs, and McQueen,' was held at SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion and curated by director of fashion exhibitions Rafael Gomes.[3] The exhibition showcased the glamour and spirit of backstage from 1998 to 2010. It featured shots of supermodels Gisele Bundchen, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, makeup artists Pat McGrath and Val Garland, hair stylists Julien D'Ys and Orlando Pita, and milliners Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy.

Publications
  • Alexander McQueen: Unseen, Robert Fairer, Sally Singer, Claire Wilcox, 2016, ISBN 9780300222678
  • John Galliano: Unseen, Robert Fairer, André Leon Talley, Claire Wilcox, 2017, ISBN 0300228953
  • Marc Jacobs: Unseen, Robert Fairer, Sally Singer, André Leon Talley, 2018, ISBN 1419732838
  • John Galliano for Dior, Robert Fairer, André Leon Talley, Oriole Cullen et al., 2019, ISBN 0500022402
  • Karl Lagerfeld Unseen: The Chanel Years, Robert Fairer, Sally Singer, Natasha A. Fraser, Elizabeth von Thurn und Taxis, 2022, ISBN 1419762850

See also

References
  1. Yotka, Steff (15 October 2021). "A New Exhibit of Robert Fairer's Backstage Photos Celebrates the Glory of In-Person Runway Shows". Vogue. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  2. Phelps, Nicole (12 September 2018). "Inside Marc Jacobs: Unseen, a Book of Backstage Photography by Robert Fairer, Who Shot the Designer's Earliest Shows". Vogue. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. "'Robert Fairer Backstage Pass: Dior, Galliano, Jacobs, and McQueen'". SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film. 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  4. Landy, Samantha (2 April 2023). "Robert Fairer's 10 favourite photos from Alexander McQueen shows". Herald Sun. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  5. Petty, Felix (19 October 2016). "McQueen unseen: go behind the scenes and dive into lee's world". i-D Magazine. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  6. Mallon, Jackie (21 May 2021). "Exploring the eternal fascination around designer Alexander McQueen". Fashion United. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  7. White, Ryan (28 September 2018). "how to make it as a backstage fashion photographer with robert fairer". i-D Magazine. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  8. Wally, Maxine (25 January 2022). "Robert Fairer Goes Backstage (and Back in Time)". W Magazine. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. S Wallace, Paula (13 November 2020). "SCADcast: 'On Creativity' with Robert Fairer". SCADcast. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  10. "The photographer's new exhibition at SCAD FASH goes behind the scenes of the world's most iconic fashion moments". Whitewall. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  11. Mallon, Jackie (21 May 2021). "Exploring the eternal fascination around designer Alexander McQueen". Fashion United. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. Verney, Harriet (2 November 2017). "Photographing John Galliano's theatrical world". CNN. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
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