Beauty not bound by age, says top photographer
Models aged from 18 to 80 have posed for pictures for celebrity photographer Rankin as part of a campaign to show beauty is “not restricted by race, shape, age or size”. The photographs will go on show alongside a series of paintings of notable women...
Models aged from 18 to 80 have posed for pictures for celebrity photographer Rankin as part of a campaign to show beauty is “not restricted by race, shape, age or size”. The photographs will go on show alongside a series of paintings of notable women from history at the National Portrait Gallery, in central London, for one night on Friday.
The models, wearing designs by British fashion names including Dame Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney, are part of a campaign organised by a group called All Walks Beyond the Catwalk.
It was formed by former BBC Clothes Show presenter Caryn Franklin, fashion consultant Debra Bourne and model Erin O’Connor. In a statement, they said: “This is a chance for visitors to hear and experience a different voice from the heart of the fashion industry and, like the multitude of silhouettes and garments our industry both designs and promotes, beauty is also individual. It’s not restricted by race, shape, age or size.”
Rankin, who co-founded style magazine Dazed & Confused, has photographed stars including Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss. He said: “I wholly admire and support the endeavours of the All Walks Beyond the Catwalk campaign.
“As a photographer, I am constantly confronted by perceived ideals of beauty. The models, actors, musicians, and ‘real’ people who I see down my lens are all influenced by an oppressive world of unattainable physical goals.
“I always work hard to break through the artifice and capture something unique, original and beautiful in each of my subjects. Interest and creativity is not about perfection but quite the opposite; beauty comes from our idiosyncrasies.”