Steve Hiett (26 December 1940 – 28 August 2019) was a British photographer, musician, artist and graphic designer based in Paris.

Early life and education

Hiett was born on 26 December 1940 in Oxford. Later, his parents moved him and his sister from the East End of London to Lancing, West Sussex where they grew up. From 1957 Hiett studied painting at Worthing Art School. In 1959 he changed to Brighton Art School to study

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

, he also began studying photography.

Life and work

After studying he joined a psych/pop band, Pyramid. This experience led to him photographing

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

backstage in the 1970s. In addition Hiett began a series of photos of empty suburban streets that resulted in his first book, ''Pleasure Places'' (Flash Books, 1975). In 1968 he began his career as a fashion photographer for ''

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

'' magazine. In 1972 he moved to Paris and his work began to be published regularly in ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

,'' ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

,'' and ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

''. During the 1980s he worked as a photographer and developed his signature style of over-saturated images, off-centre framing and dazzling flash. In the same period he made a guitar solo album in Japan for

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

: ''Down on the Road by the Beach'' accompanied by a photo book. In the 1990s Hiett moved to New York City and did graphic design and typography. There he met

Carla Sozzani Carla Sozzani (born 1947) is an Italian book and magazine editor, gallerist, and businesswoman. She founded the Galleria Carla Sozzani in 1989 and is the creator of 10 Corso Como, an art and fashion establishment in Milan. Early life and educati ...

, who invited him to return to Paris and work for ''

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of '' Vogue'' magazine owned by Condé Nast International. In publication since 1964, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. The publication is currently edited by Francesca Ragazzi and ...

.''Steve Hiett
stevehiettstudio.com. Hiett photographed celebrities. He worked for the fashion magazines ''Marie Claire,'' ''Vogue Italia,'' '' The Face,'' ''

France,'' ''

Vogue China ''Vogue China'' ( zh, ') is the Chinese edition of '' Vogue'' magazine. The magazine carries a mixture of local and foreign content. The magazine is published by Condé Nast in partnership with the state-owned China Pictorial Publishing House. T ...

,'' ''Vogue Russia,'' ''Vogue Spain,'' ''

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 ...

,'' ''Visionnaire,'' ''Hunger,'' ''Nova,'' ''Elle,'' ''Spoon Magazine'' and '' Glamour.'' He worked for the brands

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; 15 November 1940 – 12 April 2024) was an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He was known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The Roberto Cavalli fashion house sells luxury clothing, perf ...

Guy Laroche Guy Laroche () (16 July 1921 – 17 February 1989) was a French fashion designer and founder of the eponymous company. Biography Laroche was born in La Rochelle to a Tunisian Jewish family, and began his career in millinery. From 1949, L ...

Oscar de la Renta Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...

, Big, and

Piaget Piaget () may refer to: People with the surname * Édouard Piaget (18171910), Swiss entomologist * Jean Piaget (18961980), Swiss developmental psychologist * Paul Piaget (disambiguation), several people * Solange Piaget Knowles (born 1986), Ameri ...

. In 2014 he led the judging of the photography category at the Hyeres Festival, during which a retrospective entitled ''Steve Hiett: The Song Remains the Same'' was held at

Villa Noailles Villa Noailles () is an early modernist house, built by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, between 1923 and 1927. It is located in the hills above Hyères, in the Var, southeastern France. H ...

.Steve Hiett: The Song Remains the Same

Personal life

Hiett had a daughter and two grandchildren. In 2018, he married former fashion model and modelling agent Louise Despointes. He died aged 78 on 28 August 2019.

Exhibitions

*''Down on the Road by the Beach,'' Galerie Watari, Tokyo, May 1983 *''Vogue's Glittering World,'' Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, 1999 *''La Femme Cachée – London, Berlin, Milan, Shangai,''

C/O Berlin C/O Berlin is a private exhibition space for photography and visual media in Berlin. It is located in Amerika Haus Berlin by Zoologischer Garten station, Charlottenburg, where it has more than 2,500 square metres of space. C/O Berlin presents wor ...

, Berlin, 2003 *''Electric Fashion,'' Wouter van Leeuwen, Amsterdam, 2007 *''Visiontrack,'' Galerie Maeght, Paris, 2009 *''Out Takes,''

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

, London, 2012 *''The Song Remains the Same,''

, Hyères, Hyères 2014 , 2014 *''Urban Grace,'' 7.24×0.26 Gallery, Milan, Italy, 2014 *''She Knows Me Too Well: Some Early Photographs,'' Galerie Madé, Paris, 2014/15 *''Beyond Blonde,'' Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy, 2016 *''Cool Pola,'' Galerie La Hune, Paris, 2016/17 *''Steve Hiett Polaroids'', Galerie Madé, Paris, 2017

Publications

*''Pleasure Places.'' Flash, 1975. . *''Down on the Road by the Beach.''

, 1982. *''Hyper Real Soul.'' gallery 213, 2000. *''Femme Cachée.'' Joop Jeans; Milan:

, 2005. *''Glittering World.''

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 ...

Italy, 2006. *''Portraits de Ville: New York.'' Paris: be-pôles, 2012. . *''Roland Garros.'' Paris: Martiniere, 2015. . With a preface by

Philippe Labro Philippe Labro (27 August 1936 – 4 June 2025) was a French author, journalist, and film director. He worked for RTL, ''Paris Match'', TF1, and Antenne 2. He received the Prix Interallié for his autobiography ''L'Étudiant étranger'' in 198 ...

. *''Beyond Blonde.'' Munich:

Prestel Prestel was the Brand#Brand names and trademark, brand name of a videotex service launched in the UK in 1979 by BT Group#Post Office Telecommunications, Post Office Telecommunications, a division of the British Post Office Limited#History, Po ...

, 2015. Philippe Garner. . "Traces the evolution of his first shots, taken in Bromley of "simple pictures of quiet empty places" to his time as art director at Arthur Elgort's Model Manual and his ongoing work in fashion today."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiett, Steve 1940 births 2019 deaths Photographers from Sussex British fashion photographers Photographers from Paris British emigrants to France