Man In Focus

Laura Pampin @laurapampin
Mar 20, 2015
2 min read

“The way men are seen in photography, in fashion, and the way that men look at pictures of themselves has changed in recent years. It is a subject that has come into focus: The masculine image, a man's personal style, changing attitudes to the male face and body.” - Mario Testino

From Rio to London, Cusco to Seville, Mario Testino is renowned for his free-spirited chronicles of dress and demeanor. In SIR, his largest book to date, the influential photographer presents over 300 photographer presents over 300 photographs in his search to define the allure of men.

Featuring an essay by Pierre Borhan, an interview with Patrick Kinmonth, and many previously unpublished works from Testino's archive of thousands, this book traces the evolution of male identity over the past three decades. Costume, tradition, gender play, portraiture, photojornalism, and fashion collide as Testino observes masculinity in all its modern manifestations: through the dandy and the gentleman, the macho and the fey, the world-famous to the unkonw passerby, representing I each photograph a unique point of view, and a new visual connection betwee photographer and sitter.

Traditional male attire, rural community of Chahuaytire, District if Pisac, Province of Calca, Cusco, 2010

Inside you will find a Johs Harnett for VMAN (2005), evoking the fall of Helmut Berger in the abyss of Luchino Visconti's The Damned, the courage that David Beckham, DVID Bowie, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards feature, redifining male identity, and curious photos of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Jude Law and Colin Firth, all these men and many more defining a period in which men's changing role, style and appearance has never escaped Testino's eye and impeccable intuition.