The campaign was shot by Mario Sorrenti, who today is well-known successful fashion photographer for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. At the time, he was in a relationship with Kate Moss.
It was controversial. Twiggy's 'waif' look was taken to another level - very thin and bony, with big eyes - but now with bags, smudged makeup, shabby appearance and 'stoned' facial expressions, implying that they were high. The use of heroin was glamorized, and cult stars had a huge influence (such as the death of Kurt Cobain).
Davide Sorrenti (b 1976) became involved in the skater lifestyle as a teenager in New York City. He was the creator of the skater graffiti group 'SKE Crew' and was influenced by the work of Larry Clark (see previous blog) and began to document his life. Soon after they met, he became involved with Jaime King, and she was included his work - his most famous photograph being of her cutting up her tights with a poster of Kurt Cobain in the background. The label of 'Heroin Chic' was born.
The look was criticized hugely; it encouraged drug use and eating disorders, the image of ideal beauty had become distorted, women were objectified, and 'healthy' models were no longer on the catwalk. Bill Clinton said "You do not need to glamorize addiction to sell clothes".
Davide died of an overdose in 1997 at the age of 20, leaving his work to be branded and critically acclaimed further.
Despite it's controversy, Heroin Chic is one of my favourite fashion movements. Being a huge fan of Kate Moss, Larry Clark and Mario Sorrenti's photography work, and of the hiphop/skater culture of the 90s, I quickly became interested in Davide Sorrenti's work. I love his naturalistic documentary style, and it's raw, grungey look. Here are some other thingssss...
Kate & Marky Mark!
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