Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French
fashion photographer.
Early life and education
Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
,
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, with his mother and four brothers. For his seventeenth birthday, his stepfather bought him his first
Eastman Kodak camera. Demarchelier learned how to develop film and retouch
negatives, and began photographing friends and weddings.
Career
In 1975, Demarchelier left Paris for New York City to follow his girlfriend. He discovered
fashion photography by working as a
freelance photographer
A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs.
Duties and types of photograp ...
learning from, and working with photographers such as
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...
, Terry King, and Jacque Guilbert. His work drew the attention of ''
Elle'', ''
Marie Claire'', and ''
20 Ans'' Magazine.
He is perhaps best known for his intimate portraits of
Princess Diana that helped establish her popularity and accessible public image.
He later worked for ''
Vogue'' and ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
'', first in September 1992 which resulted in a 12-year collaboration. Demarchelier shot international advertising campaigns for
Dior,
Louis Vuitton,
Celine,
TAG Heuer,
Chanel,
Donna Karan,
Yves Saint Laurent,
Tommy Hilfiger,
Carolina Herrera,
Moschino,
Vera Wang,
Elizabeth Arden,
H&M,
Sam Edelman,
Zara,
Max Azria,
Express,
Longchamp,
Blumarine,
Lacoste,
Ann Taylor,
Calvin Klein, and
Ralph Lauren.
From the late 1970s on, Patrick Demarchelier photographed the covers for nearly every major fashion magazine including American, British and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
''
Vogue''. He also shot covers for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'', ''
Glamour'', ''
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'', ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'', ''
Elle'', and ''
Mademoiselle''. He photographed many advertising campaigns, including
Farrah Fawcett shampoo in 1978, the
Brooke Shields doll in 1982, Lauren by
Ralph Lauren, Cutty Sark, and a
Calvin Klein ad with
Talisa Soto and
Giorgio Armani,
Chanel,
GAP,
Gianni Versace
Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...
,
L'Oréal,
Elizabeth Arden,
Revlon,
Lancôme, and
Gianfranco Ferré. He was also the primary photographer for the book ''On Your Own,'' a beauty/lifestyle guide written for young women by
Brooke Shields. From 1992 on he worked with ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
'', becoming its premier photographer. Demarchelier was awarded the contract for the 2005
Pirelli Calendar
The Pirelli Calendar, known and trade-marked as "The Cal", is an annual trade calendar which has been published by the UK subsidiary of the Italian tyre manufacturing company Pirelli since 1964. The calendar has a reputation for its choice of p ...
. Over the years he helped the careers of many make-up artists like
Laura Mercier, Jason Marks, and
Pat McGrath.

In 2007,
Christine Albanel,
French Minister of Culture, honoured Demarchelier as an Officer in
l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Literature).
Demarchelier was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50s by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in March 2013.
Sexual harassment allegations
In February 2018, Demarchelier was accused by seven models who worked with him of sexual harassment. One of the highest-profile people accused during
the #MeToo movement in the fashion industry, Demarchelier denied the allegations. In response to the allegations,
Condé Nast
Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...
announced "we have informed Patrick we will not be working with him for the foreseeable future".
Death
Demarchelier died in
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...
on 31 March 2022, at the age of 78.
In popular culture
Demarchelier is referenced in the 2006 film ''
The Devil Wears Prada''.
He appeared in a cameo in
the film version of ''Sex and the City'' (2008), where he can be seen taking pictures during
Carrie Bradshaw's fashion shoot for ''
Vogue''.
He also appeared in the 2009 documentary ''
The September Issue'' which is about
Anna Wintour and American ''Vogue''. He was called to do last-minute photographs for
Grace Coddington after
Edward Enninful's were not sufficient.
He was featured prominently in the sixth episode of
Cycle 15 of ''America's Next Top Model'' (2010).
References
External links
Official website*
Demarchelier at Luminous Lint;Some of his most famous photographs
Christy Turlington New York 1992Nadja Auermann Paris 1994.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demarchelier, Patrick
1943 births
2022 deaths
French fashion photographers
French emigrants to the United States
Artists from Le Havre
French expatriates in the United States
Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres