Michel Comte
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QuoteBiography
Michel Comte has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, worked for all the major international magazines and put his stamp on numerous international advertising campaigns.
Born in Zurich in 1954, with a compulsively acquisitive eye and self-taught as a photographer, Comte enjoyed a meteoric rise after being discovered by Karl Lagerfeld when he moved to Paris in the late 70s as a trained fine art restorer.
The 80s naturally drew him to New York, and he later took residence in Los Angeles. Comte says of his restless persona: “I have always lived on the edge. I probably inherited that from my grandfather”, referring to Swiss aviation pioneer Alfred Comte.
For over 30 years, he created iconic advertising, fielding commissions from labels like Armani, Ungaro, Ferrari, Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, as well as assignments from Vogue, Vanity Fair and all the major publications. In later years, he trained his lens on travel photography and evocative landscapes of his beloved Engadin, as well as war reportage, taking on photo assignments for the International Red Cross as well as his own Water Foundation in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sudan and Cambodia.
His body of work is both vast and distinctive. Intensely private, Michel Comte remained an enigma, even to those who worked frequently with him. He is both auteur and voyeur, driven to capture what Sargent called ‘the animal in the sitter’ more by compulsion than commission. His iconic portraits from the world of art, music, film, sports and fashion all carry that signature style: an essential ability to conjure in the sitter something so spontaneous, intimate and authentic, that it connects with the viewer for all time. Not one to discount the value of experience over affinity, he is famously quoted to have responded deadpan to the question of how long it takes him to perfect a great spontaneous shot: “30 years and 5 minutes”.
michelcomte.org
Vogue Italia September 1993 (Couture Supplement)
Black?: Strict or Sexy
Photographer: Michel Comte
Stylist: Mika Mizutani
Hair: Cemal
Make Up: Paul Starr
Model: Meghan Douglas
lylascans.tumblr.com
Vogue Italia July 1995
News Portfolio
Photographer: Michel Comte
Fashion Editor: Anna Dello Russo
Models: Carla Bruni, Chrystele Saint-Louis Augustin, Diane Kruger, Elsa Zylberstein, Helena Christensen, Jennifer Williams, Kirsty Hume, Marie Eve, Marine Delterme, Michelle Behennah, Monica Bellucci and Valeria Bruni
Hair: Madeleine Cofano
Make-Up: Thierry Mauduit and Delphine Ehrhart
Vogue Italia Archive via cottonmouth13 @ tfs
Vogue Italia March 1995 (Couture Supplement)
Il Lusso....
Photographer: Michel Comte
Models: Elle MacPherson, Brandi Quiñones, Helena Christensen, Monica Bellucci, Karen Mulder, Nadege du Bospertus, Nina Brosh & Unknown
Fashion Editor: Anna Dello Russo
Hair: Oribe
Makeup: Nando Chiesa
Scanned by kelles @ tfs
Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 94.95 (Advertisements)
Models/Stars: Isabella Rossellini & Kelly Lynch
Photographer: Michel Comte
archivio.vogue.it (Vogue Italia October 1994)
Gaetano Navarra Fall/Winter 94.95 (Advertisement)
Model: Beverly Peele
Photographer: Michel Comte
archivio.vogue.it (Vogue Italia October 1994)
Enrico Coveri Fall/Winter 96.97 (Advertisement)
Model: Eva Herzigova
Photographer: Michel Comte
archivio.vogue.it (Vogue Italia December 1996)
US Vogue June 1982
The New Beauty Priorities
Photographer: Michel Comte
Models: Kim Alexis & Isabella Rossellini
Hair: Howard Fugler
Makeup: Paul Gobel
Scanned by justaguy @ tfs
US Vogue March 1982
The Seasonless Option
Photographer: Michel Comte
Models: Isabella Rossellini, Annette Karlsson, Kim Alexis, Kelly Emberg, Tony Spinelli & Unknowns
Hair & Makeup: Rick Gillette
Nails: Cecilia Chan
Scanned by justaguy @ tfs
US Vogue March 1983
Coming On Strong...the New Neutrals
Photographer: Michel Comte
Models: Terry Farrell, Renee Simonsen & Joan Severance
Hair: Bob Fink
Makeup: Rumiko
Scanned by justaguy @ tfs
US Vogue May 1982
Vogue Patterns: A New Eye On Prints
Photographer: Michel Comte
Models: Andrea Maliewicz, Joan Severance, Carey Lowell, Sinjin Smith, Terry Farrell & Unknown
Hair: Sean Hoskins
Makeup: Angelica Novaes
Scanned by justaguy @ tfs
Vogue Italia February 1995
Italian Stars
Photographer: Michel Comte
Fashion Editor: Anna Dello Russo
Stars: Isabella Rossellini and Monica Bellucci
Hair: Kevin Woon
Make-Up: Paul Starr
Vogue Italia Archive via cottonmouth13 @ tfs
Vogue Italia September 1993
Model: Rosie Vela
Photographer: Michel Comte
Stylist: Anna Dello Russo
Hair: Cemal Hdiguezal
Make Up: Paul Star
Scanned by LylaScans @ tfs at her tumblr
Mademoiselle September 1984
"New York Style"
Models: Talisa Soto, Alison Cohn, Lenita & Unknowns
Photographer: Michel Comte
facebook.com/www.supermodelicons.com
Elle France July 14th, 1986
"Harmonie in blue"
Models: Talisa Soto & Unknown
Photographer: Michel Comte
Stylist: Sophie David
Hair: Gad Cohen
Makeup: Marie-Josée Lafontaine
WARNING: Nudity
automne-roi20.livejournal.com
Vogue US April 1983
A Dress...Yes!
Photographer: Michel Comte
Models: Suzy Amis, Maria Johnson, Paulina Porizkova & Beth Rupert
Hair: John Victor
Makeup: Rumiko
Scanned by justaguy @ tfs
Elle France May 19th, 1986
"Le corps de votre été"
Model: Stephanie Seymour
Photographer: Michel Comte
automne-roi20.livejournal.com
Vogue Italia March 1995
Monica...
Photographer: Michel Comte
Model: Monica Bellucci
Fashion Editor: Anna Dello Russo
Hair: Oribe
Makeup: Nando Chiesa
Scanned by kelles @ tfs
Vogue Italia December 1996
Model/Star: Carey Lowell
Photographer: Michel Comte
Stylist: Anna Dello Russo
Hair: Christiaan
Makeup: Sonia Kashuk
archivio.vogue.it
Mademoiselle March 1985
"Bodies Like This, Don't Just Happen"
Model: Renee Simonsen
Photographer: Michel Comte
Hair & Makeup: Tomoko
imcmagazine.com (originally scanned by missparker7)