Guy Bourdin was the first photographer to create a complex narrative, then snatch a moment — sensual, provocative, shocking, exotic, surrealistic, sometimes sinister — and simply associate it with a fashion item. The narratives were strange and mysterious, sometimes full of violence, sexuality, and surrealism. Bourdin was influenced by his mentor Man Ray, photographer Edward Weston, the surrealist painters Magritte and Balthus, and film maker Luis Buñuel. Even though much less well known to the public than his colleague Helmut Newton (also working for Vogue), Bourdin possibly has been more influential on the younger generations of fashion photographers.
An editor of Vogue magazine introduced Bourdin to shoe designer Roland Jourdan, who became his patron, and Bourdin shot Jourdan’s ad campaigns between 1967 and 1981. His quirky anthropomorphic compositions, intricate mise en scene ads were greatly recognized and always greatly anticipated by the media.
I've always been in love with the pictures and the aesthetics of Bourdin because of the work he has done for Charles Jourdan. For me Charles Jourdan is not only a shoe brand but it is linked with my youth. With my mum. With the pair of shoes of Jourdan she has collected through the years... A full closet. Boxes everywhere. I know why I am such a shoe addict... Merci Maman...
