The Fashion Life of Ryan

If you are familiar with photographer Ryan McGinley, I'm sure images of naked, downtown NY hipsters spring to mind when you think of his work. McGinley, along with friends Dash Snow and Dan Colen, make up a threesome of media-friendly enfant terribles who have dominated the NY art scene for the past 4 years. However, more recently, McGinley's work has gone beyond downtown New York and is increasingly being seen in more mainstream areas - he provided the artwork for the last Sigur Ros album and also lensed the 2008 Oscar Portfolio in The New York Times Magazine, the current Wrangler "We Are Animals" campaign and will apparently be behind the camera for Stella McCartney's Spring 2009 campaign.


For me, his most beautiful work has appeared in fashion magazines - Kate Moss as McGinley's Dream Girl for a June 2007 W shoot, Agy Deyn falling from a Manhatten fire escape in this season's Pop and this month's road trip editorial in Paris Vogue with Raquel Zimmerman. I'm a big fan of the hazy, soft-focus fantasy worlds that he creates. Certain McGinley hallmarks appear again and again - besides the aforementioned nudity, there are often fireworks, figures floating through the air, faces half hidden by the branches of a tree - I don't really mind if he is getting lazy and reusing the same tricks - it results in some of the most beautiful fashion editorials I have seen in a long time






NY Times Magazine -Feb 2008

W - June 2007

Pop - Sept 2008

Paris Vogue - Nov 2008