Patrick Demarchelier

Patrick Demarchelier (1943–2022) was a French fashion photographer whose prolific career spanned five decades and reshaped the visual language of magazines and luxury brands. Born near Paris and raised in Le Havre, he received his first camera at seventeen and moved to Paris at twenty, apprenticing under Hans Feurer before landing assignments with Elle and Marie Claire. In 1975 he relocated to New York, quickly becoming a fixture at Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, and Rolling Stone.

Known for his effortless rapport with subjects, Demarchelier created iconic portraits of Madonna, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and Princess Diana—the first non‑British photographer granted unprecedented access to the royal family. His editorial success led to high‑profile campaigns for Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, and Calvin Klein. In 1993, Harper’s Bazaar won the National Magazine Award for Outstanding Achievement in Photography on the strength of his collaboration with Liz Tilberis and Fabien Baron.

A self‑taught artist who believed in daily practice—“Being a photographer is like being an athlete,” he said—Demarchelier balanced technical mastery with warm human connection. His work has been exhibited at the Musée des Beaux‑Arts de Paris and the Museo del Novecento in Milan. His legacy endures in the countless images that define modern fashion and celebrity portraiture.