Mark Borthwick

He may not be a household name, but Mark Borthwick is one of the most influential fashion photographers of the 20th century.

If you love flicking through editorial fashion shoots as much as us then you will no doubt have fallen for the shots of fashion photographer extraordinaire, Mark Borthwick. Featured in magazines such as Purple, I.D. and Self Service, his signature colour-saturated, over-exposed pictures have earned him a reputation for being one of the most stylish and forward thinking photographers of the twentieth century.

London born Borthwick first picked up a camera in the mid eighties when he moved to Paris and bought a bar. He began taking pictures of the best-dressed clientele and, at the same time, formed firm friendships with the editors of The Face and I.D. Before long he was shooting editorial spreads and celebrities for the fashion-forward magazines as well as holding exhibitions across the globe. His photographs are easy to spot – not for him the glossy, perfectly styled and retouched photograph. His much-imitated style is more relaxed and ethereal, infused with a hippy vibe inspired by his communal up-bringing. His beautiful, bleached and slightly soft snapshots are photographs that you want to live in.

Nowadays Borthwick lives in Brooklyn with his wife, designer Maria Cornejo, and children, and has established himself as a photography force to be reckoned with, working with a whole host of the hip and cool within the music and fashion industries; He collaborated with Martin Margiela on a much lusted-after book documenting the designer’s a/w 1998 collection; he made a film for Cat Power, entitled ‘Speaking For Trees; And he shot the incredibly cool look book for Chloe Sevigny’s Opening Ceremony Collection.

Want to get a feel for his work? Borthwick has just released a coffee table book entitled ‘Not In Fashion’, a collection of over 200 of his best editorial shots, celebrity pictures and personal diary entries that we can’t stop flicking through. And check out this season’s breathtaking campaign for Vanessa Bruno, featuring our perpetual style crush, Lou Doillon – ELLE loves.

Click here to shop for 'Not In Fashion'

Click here to watch Mark Borthwick's film, 'Speaking For Trees', with Cat Power

By Emma Sells