“Michel Haddi: Beyond Fashion” is part of the program of the side events taking place during the PhotoVogue Festival.
The first major solo exhibiton in Milan by the Franco-Algerian photographer Michel Haddi, will take place in two parts at 29 Arts in Progress Gallery: the first, from October 19th to December 22nd, 2023, and the second one, from January 16th to March 16th, 2024. During both, the most representative images of the artist’s career, lasting than forty years, will be displayed. Liza Minnelli, David Bowie, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, but also Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Stephanie Seymour, Yasmin Le Bon, and Veruschka are just some of the icons Haddi captured in his photographs. Through the images of these known personalities, Haddi has been able to capture the zeitgeist, always maintaining an intimate and personal touch in which we can glimpse both the true essence of the subjects he portrayed and his story and his desire of becoming a photographer, nurtured throughout his turbulent childhood.
Haddi’s work will include black and white studio images and street shots in which humor and sensuality melt together. The second phase of the exhibtion, from January 16th to March 16th, 2024, will feature nudes and unpublished shots as well as images of vibrant colours and American scenarios from the Nineties, associated to brands such as Versace, Chanel, Armani, and Yves Saint-Laurent.
Haddi has the gift of seeing the nature of the subjects in front of his lens, telling their story with both irony and wisdom, honouring the meaning of his name: ‘he who sees,’ in the Semitic language.
“Well I have been a lucky son of a gun can I say. It is like coming back home, as It all really started for me in Italy, where I learned all my crafts and perfected my skills with Vogue itself and the late Franca Sozzani and Marc Ascoli, amongst many others.”, says Haddi.
“From where I am now, to where I might have been born in Saint Germain, I have seen hell on earth and experienced many things that have helped to shape my character and style of photography.” He adds.
“I feel comfortable being “outside of the box”: you see things differently from others. As Bert Stern told me when I was a young photographer: “Kid carry on, I am happy to see your mind is set to provoke, so go for it”. As my gallerists 29 Arts In Progress say, my way of seeing fashion is a real mix of everything and crosses all gender but with the primary focus always being on human relationships. This is something I supposed I didn’t have when I was growing up, so in my work I have embraced it all. Inventing a new world, with a new perspective on life that is my own and this is all I want.”
