Legendary Peruvian fashion photographer Mario Testino's maiden visit to India was a star-studded affair. A soiree was hosted by Vogue India on Tuesday in New Delhi to welcome the celebrated photographer. It was attended by the leading names of India's fashion fraternity and social circles.
Testino was joined by Bollywood A-lister Katrina Kaif, distinguished Indian designers such as Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora, Gaurav Gupta, Varun Bahl, Rahul Mishra, JJ Vallaya, Monisha Jaisingh, Namrata Joshipura, Pankaj & Nidhi and Rina Dhaka, to mention a few, on the black carpet of the glittering event.
"It's amazing, but the sad thing is that, in the time that I am here, I am going to discover nothing in Delhi. But it's fabulous and the people are so warm," Testino told News18.com in an exclusive interview at the event.
Regarded as one of the most influential fashion and portrait photographers of our times, Testino was born in Lima in 1954 to a traditional Catholic family and moved from Peru to London in 1976.
His work has been published internationally in magazines such as Vogue, V Magazine and Vanity Fair and he has contributed significantly in the success of leading fashion and beauty houses, creating emblematic images for brands from Gucci, Burberry, Versace and Michael Kors to Chanel, Estée Lauder and Lancôme.
Testino's work has been exhibited at museums around the world, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (In Your Face, 2012), the Shanghai Art Museum (Private View, 2012), Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid (Todo o Nada, 2010), the Metropolitan Museum in Tokyo (Portraits, 2004) and Foam in Amsterdam (Portraits, 2003). Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented at galleries such as Mary Boone Gallery in New York, Phillips de Pury in London, Yvon Lambert in Paris and Timothy Taylor in London. More than sixteen books have been published on his work including Portraits (National Portrait Gallery, 2002), Let Me In! (Taschen, 2007), In Your Face (Taschen, 2012) and SIR (Taschen, 2015).
When asked about his dream project, Testino told News18.com, "I have a series of photographs that I did in Peru, of the traditional dresses of Cusco which is in the mountains of Peru, and I noticed that this country (India) has a lot of traditional clothes too and to do a documentary like that would be amazing."
Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif, who joined Testino at the event was all praise for the acclaimed photographer.
While speaking to News18.com, she said, "I think like me, many people who started their careers from the modelling world, from the fashion industry have always been a fan of his work. I think he does just the most beautiful, personal work. You can always tell a picture of his, I don't even have to read the credits. 95% of the time I see a picture and I know if Mario Testino has shot it because there is a certain eye to his work, certain beauty, certain delicateness. Now after meeting him I can really understand why!"
"He is such a warm, welcoming and amazing person and he takes the time after doing some of the most amazing work in the world and photographing the most amazing, brilliant women in the world. He takes the time to personally know you and to find out what is it about you that makes you who you are. He takes time to get to know a person and I think it's that humility and it's that grace which which adds to his incredible talent and makes him who he is."
Testino is in India to guest edit the May issue of Vogue. He has in the past edited 11 Vogue issues. This is the first time the leading fashion figure will capture India through his famous lens. "It's an exchange so I am feeding from India to produce my style of pictures ofcourse with the flavour of here," said Testno when he was asked what he had planned for his assignment in the country.
(All images sourced from Vogue India.)
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