Cathleen Naundorf was born in Germany in 1968, in the town of Weißenfels, the same hometown as , Horst P. Horst, to whom she consistently refers in her work. Growing up in East Germany, Naundorf moved to Munich to study arts, notably painting and photography, before getting to New York, Singapore, and Paris. She soon received commissions by Glamour and Vogue and made herself a reputation in 2005 when she began shootinng haute couture in cooperation with prestigious houses.
She published these pictures in the book Haute Couture: The Polaroids, (Prestel, 2012). Her most recent book, Women of Singular Beauty Chanel Haute Couture, was made possible with the help of Chanel. Here are two videos presenting her works.
Cathleen Naundorf photographs 1930s French Couture, was produced by the Victoria & Albert Museum. The museum invited Naundorf to use gowns from the museum’s collection. Naundorf had there the occasion of going through into its vintage clothes collections. Additionally, she also explained her thinking process, trying to create pictures that seem capable of transporting the viewer to a different time.
Secret Times” Fotografiska Museum, was shot and produced by Moon Man Studios. The Fotografiska museum preparing for Naundorf‘s haute couture exhibition. The video features the founder of Fotografiska, Jan Broman, and Naundorf, speaking about the creation of the exhibition.
