Short study of David LaChapelle work, and a Passionnata's Ad photographed by LaChapelle.

1. David
LaChapelle
Sarah
Mousseaux
2013

3. LaChapelle
David
3
The Photographe - David Lachapelle
I
choose to write
about David
LaChapelle
because I al-
ways admired his work.
As a teenager, I really
liked his colorful visual
because of its link to
Pop Art and the critics
of the society he made
through his art. For me
his work is in between
the art world and the
fashion world, he also
achieved to put a mean-
ing inside fashion pho-
tography, they do not
show only the object
but they have a story
behind.
David Lachapelle is
one of the most influ-
ential photographers of
his time and his color-
ful style is often copied
in magazines. David
LaChapelle is an Ameri-
can photographer born
in 1963 in Connecticut
and his work is very
close to Pop Art, Sur-
realism and Andy War-
hol. He shot a lot of
celebrities like Naomi
Campbell, Kanye West
or Amanda Lepore, and
photographed cover for
famous Fashion maga-
zine like Vogue Italia.
His style is well-known
by its vivid color, multi-
colored setting and by a
polished mise-en-scene
that can be very impor-
tant: destroyed houses,
bears, crashed cars ….
© Thomas Schweigwertrt

4. David
LaChapelle
4
Indeed, Lachapelle use
very few special ef-
fects. His influences go
from baroque painting
to pop art, and "porno
chic" with a lot of na-
ked body in his photo-
graphs.
"It is funnier, if you
want to photograph
a girl sitting on a
mushroom, to build
the mushroom and
to make her sit on
it, than to do it on
a computer. All the
same if you want
to put a naked girl
and a monkey in
the middle of Time
Square."
During the 80s, he
found his style: show
situation, make the life
artificial, synthetic, take
extra care with tall de-
tails in his settings. His
main goal is to reject he
reality of life and cre-
ate a new world more
beautiful. Because,
even if his models pose
in backgrounds far from
idyllic (destroyed build-
ings, fast-food, delivery
room, meat shop…) his
aim is unique: glorfy the
beauty and glamour.
His style is easily rec-
ognizable. He is in-
spired from art history
to pornography, in a
very colorful style that
mix glamour to humor
and that is very surre-
alist. About this David
Lachapelle said:
"I try in my pictures
to go the farther
away from reality.
Dreams should be an
essential part of eve-
ryday."

5. LaChapelle
David
5
Analysis of his style
Signature, style
D
avid
LaChapelle
created a style
very different
from his pair, he devel-
oped his own universe
and visuals. His inspira-
tion is Helmut Newton
and Andy Warhol who
gave him his first job in
the 80s. His trademark
is the screaming col-
our, the glitz and glam-
our, the voyeurism,
the trash, the nudity,
sex and religious con-
notation. Apart from a
distinct visual world, he
also criticize the world
we live in in his photo-
graphs: consumerism,
climate change, political
issues are hidden be-
hind his polished visual.
He created an alternate
reality to escape the
real one and by doing
so show the fakeness
and issue in our world
and age. It’s really in-
Elton John, Never Enough, Never Enough, serie Star System, 1997

6. David
LaChapelle
6
teresting because pho-
tography often depict
reality (harsh reality?)
but his are created from
his own fantasy. Peo-
ple are seduced by his
style because of the
color and the fun he
had set in it. However
they often don’t see that
LaChapelle pinpoint
real issues and social
problem. So I really
think he goes outside
fashion photography in
his thinking.
shooting modes
L
aChapelle uses
both shooting
in locations and
in studio. He
has a warehouse in Los
Angeles, USA where he
can built all the sets for
his production and then
use special effect with
the use of his computer.
The major part of his
setting is built, he said
in an interview that he
had more fun imagining
the scenario, building
the set and photograph-
ing it than using the
computer.
He also use odd loca-
tion. For Vogue Italia,
he had to shoot shoes,
he then used the set of
the movie “The War of
the World” with Tom
Cruise to shoot his pic-
tures and tell his story.
customer base
D
avid
LaChapelle
has distinct
customers. He
shoot for fashion com-
panies that want to give
a new image to their
brand or just renewed
their image. Fashion
magazine are also big
customer because
LaChapelle achieves
to tell a story with his
pictures and manage
to show the items they
want him to focus on at
the same time and by
doing so create a link.
He also shot a lot of
celebrities like Kanye
West, Courtney Love…
But nowadays, celebri-
ties are also considered
as brand so it is a way
for them to be beautify
and have a story behind
the picture that enhance
them.
Also, I would say that,
because he is in be-
tween fashion and art,
his indirect customers
are also the viewer of
his pictures that will de-
crypt its meaning.
books, publications
D
avid Lachapelle
published 31
books about
his art from
1996 to 2012.
They are:
BURNING BEAUTY
Madonna, Time Lapse Photograph Spriritual Value, serie Star System, 1998

7. LaChapelle
David
7
(2012); LACHAPELLE
(2012); EARTH
LAUGHS IN FLOW-
ERS; (2012)
DAVID LACHAPELLE
(2012); THUS SPOKE
LACHAPELLE (2011);
NOSOTROS: LA
HUMANIDAD AL
BORDE (2011); DAVID
LACHAPELLE: LOST
AND FOUND (2011);
BORDERS AND
FRONTIERS (2011);
EARTH LAUGHS IN
FLOWERS (2010);
MOCA TAIPEI CATA-
LOGUE (2010); HEAV-
EN TO HELL (2010);
BLISS AMONGST
CHAOS (2010); POP-
ULAR (2010); LIFE
(2010); DIVINE COME-
DY (2010); MAYBACH:
GOING PLACES
(2010); ATOPIA (2010);
WHO SHOT ROCK
AND ROLL (2009);
PHOTO WISDOM
(2009); THE RAPE OF
AFRICA (2009); DA-
VID LACHAPELLE
(2008); AL FORTE
BELVEDERE (2008);
FIRST STEP (2008)
;ROBILANT AND
VOENA “JESUS IS MY
HOMEBOY” (2008);
PALAZZO REALE
(2007); ARTISTS AND
PROSTITUTES (2006);
DAVID LACHAPELLE
(2006); IF YOU WANT
REALITY, TAKE THE
BUS! (2003); EROS
FOTOGRAFIA (2003);
BARBICAN (2002);
DAVID LACHAPELLE
PHOTOLOGY (2001);
PORTFOLIO (2000);
DAVID LACHAPELLE
EXHIBITION (1999);
HOTEL LACHAPELLE
(1999); LACHAPELLE
LAND (1996)
other areas
D
avid Lachapelle
also worked
in other fields
beside Fash-
ion Photography. He
directed a documentary
movie called Rize in
2005. This film is about
a new dance movement
created in poor neigh-
borhood in Los Ange-
les inspired by African
culture. The movie
received positives crit-
ics and was released
internationally.
When the World Is Through, serie Destruction and Disaster, 2005

8. David
LaChapelle
8
He also directed sev-
eral music video like
Can’t holds us down by
Christina Aguilera, Rich
girl by Gwen Stefani,
Super duper love by
Joss Stone, Do it well
by J-Lo , and Everytime
by Britney Spears .
success factors
D
avid Lachapelle
has two suc-
cess factors.
First, as I
mentioned before, his
style is very recogniz-
able: polished visual
and very colorful. It is
his visual that seduce
the people, they either
hate or love it because
it is so strong. He also
set humorous situation,
a girl crushed under a
hamburger, Alexander
McQueen disguised in
Queen with a burning
castle behind are a few
example.
Secondly, because he
is considered as a com-
plete artist his work
for Fashion magazine
or celebrities appear
in museum after hav-
ing been printed in said
magazine.
LaChapelle interpretation for the
brand Passionata
D
avid Lachapelle
typical premi-
um customer
has been the
brand Passionata. Pas-
sionata is a lingerie
brand owned by the
French group Chantelle
and has been created in
1988.
In 2009, Passionata
decided to change their
brand image to fit to
younger, sexier and
more mischievous cus-
tomers. To do so, they
asked David Lachapelle
to do the communi-
cation campaign that
included a video com-
mercial directed by
the photographer and
posters. Passionata
represents the image
of the women as an
beauty and sensuality
icon, both glamorous
and stylish, sexy and
voluptuous. Passionata
customers are urban
women supposed to be
glamorous. The com-
mercial introduce to us
the Bresilian top model
Isabeli Fontana on a
rocking horse sculpted
in ice. The universe
around it is child-like
with the presence of
pink, with a princess
as heroine. The story
told is like a fairytale:
the princess fall head
over heels for the ice
sculpture. In it she is
balancing herself on it
until the horse melt and
become a heart.
As I mentioned, Pas-
sionata wanted a new
image and this new
identity is perfectly
in resonance with
LaChapelle past works
at the time. David
LaChapelle style tends
toward glamorous,
colorfull and “porno-
chic” which with per-
fectly with the lingerie
brand. The photogra-

9. LaChapelle
David
9
pher created a story,
like he usually do, be-
hind the communica-
tion. Brand image are
often not realist, the
concept should make
the customer dream, so
for the lingerie brand,
they want their con-
sumers to feel like sen-
sual beauty with power
over their life through
the lingerie. So David
Lachapelle interpreted a
sensual heroine on her
horse that will be melt
because of her power.
He presented Passio-
nata new collection
in a cheeky way, just
how the brand wants to
be seen, the way he is
used to : to chock peo-
ple in an ironic way. As
far as I’m concerned,
his signature style is the
right one for the brand
because Passionata
wants to be audacious,
colorful and provok-
ing and they introduce
their new brand image
in a unconventional
way because of David
Lachapelle.
I think, with this com-
munication, LaChapelle
managed to critic the
marketing method to
advert the lingerie, in-
cluding the target audi-
ence of the lingerie, and
maybe even himself as
the one who creates
this fake fairytale. He
then, in my opinion,
stayed true to himself.

10. David
LaChapelle
10
Critical view on how the Passionata
campaign worked out
I
think the
L a c h a p e l l e
campaign for
Passionata en-
hanced the value of the
brand in an unconven-
tional way. Before this
campaign, the brand was
not well-known, even in
its country of origin, after
this campaign Passiona-
ta has been talk about in
diverse newspaper and
on the internet, help-
ing the brand to reach
customers. The cheeky
attitude of the model
and the campaign itself
help the brand to im-
prove their brand image.
Regarding the David
Lachapelle, I’m not sure
it enhanced his appre-
ciation. After all, he
was already poplar be-
fore it. However, when
the Passionata cam-
paign went out, an ex-
hibition of his pictures
was held in Paris at the
same time, so he might
have had some publicity
for himself in this way.
Also, the communicated
value of the Passionata
campaign had some im-
pact on the society be-
cause of the way it pic-
tured the women like an
object. This collected
the wrath of the feminist
in France, but it did not
really impact LaChapelle
or Passionata.
Heaven to Hell, serie Heaven to Hell 2006

11. LaChapelle
David
11
Discussion and conclusions
D
avid Lachapelle
is a very spe-
cial photog-
rapher in-
between Fashion
Photography and Art
Photography. He re-
ally has a unique way
of presenting an issue
and make it understand-
able to most people
even those, and maybe
more so, that do not
have any art education
or cultural background.
Lachapelle manage to
show the ugliness be-
hind the beauty, how
fake sometimes beauty
is. Even through Fash-
ion photography, he
pictured that the mod-
ern way of purchasing
clothes and other fash-
ionable items is a mean
to acquire social status,
to label the body. Take
for exemple his picture
of a black singer with
Louis Vuitton logo all
over her body, for me
he showed the “objec-
tification” of the female
body, using her color
skin lie Louis Vuitton’s
leather and transform
the model as a label.
D
avid is one of
the greatest
photographer
because he
incorporate in his works
allegories with moral
and religious subject,
humor, and include
familiar elements from
the Pop culture to great
painter from the Renais-
sance into his works.
Milk Maidens, serie Excess, 1996

12. David
LaChapelle
12
Deluge : museum, serie Deluge, 2007

13. LaChapelle
David
13
(Part of) Deluge, serie Deluge, 2006

14. David
LaChapelle
14
References
Art Review: David LaChapelle at David Desanctis Gallery, Holly Myers, Los
Angeles Times, 17 September 2009 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culture-
monster/2009/09/art-review-david-lachapelle-at-david-desanctis-gallery.html
Art Review: Thus Spoke LaChapelle at Galerie Rudolfinum, Mimi Fronczak
Roger, The Prague Post, 18 January 2012 http://www.praguepost.com/night-
and-day/galleries/11746-art-review-thus-spoke-lachapelle-at-galerie-rudolfinum.
html
David Lachapelle, n/c, lesartistescontemporains.com, 2009 http://www.lesar-
tistescontemporains.com/Artistes/lachapelle.html
David LaChapelle, Nicolas Villodre, Paris-art.com,2009 http://www.paris-art.
com/marche-art/David%20LaChapelle/David%20LaChapelle/6315.html
David LaChapelle, n/c, Ykone, 2009 http://www.ykone.com/photographes/
david-lachapelle
David LaChapelle: ‘Fashion, beauty and glamour are the mark of civilization,
Elizabeth Day, The Observer, 19 February 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/
artanddesign/2012/feb/19/david-lachapelle-interview-fashion-photography
David Lachapelle : Rize & Shine, Magdalena Magiera and Kai von Rabenau,
Monu Kultur, 2007 http://mono-kultur.com/issues/11
Exposition David Lachapelle, Musée de la monnaie, Paris, 2009 http://clemi.
ac-creteil.fr/webzine/renoir/IMG/pdf/DP_20LaChapelle.pdf
Le kitsch crépusculaire de David La Chapelle, Floreal Meneto, Mediapart, 02
March 2009 http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/floreal-meneto/020309/le-kitsch-cre-
pusculaire-de-david-la-chapelle

15. LaChapelle
David
15

16. FIN