Contributors
JESSICA PRESSLER
Most celebrity shoots have two subjects: the star and the dress. But when Demarchelier photographed Salma Hayek for “Real Thing,” the clothes were stripped away—literally—to focus on the actress’s arresting face. And while many stars need some convincing to get naked, Hayek had no qualms. “She’s a great character,” says Demarchelier, who even got a few impromptu shots while Hayek was still in hair and makeup.
“It was sort of like talking to Confucius— she thinks deeply about the meaning of life,” Pressler says of interviewing Salma Hayek for “Real Thing.” And since the actress is a beauty guru as well, thanks to her Nuance Salma Hayek line, Pressler was eager for skincare advice. “She told me about her moisturizer for older skin, but then she looked searchingly at my face and said, ‘You know what? You don’t need it.’ I felt blessed by a skin goddess.”
CHRIS MCMILLAN McMillan has been a hairstylist for over 30 years, but his photography career began when Allure asked him to shoot his current obsession—’70s hairstyles—for “Back to Cool.” To give the images an easy feeling, Allure requested that he use his iPhone 6 Plus. McMillan even cast the actresses and chose the setting: in and around his house in West Hollywood. “I wasn’t stressed because I was with my dogs and my husband. We ordered my favorite tacos,” he says.
SEBASTIAN KIM
PATRICK ROGERS
BROOKE LUNSKI
Kim spent two days photographing six hairstyles on six models in six different locations for “Head Turners.” Some of the destinations inspired a fresh perspective, like a shot taken beneath a canopied art installation in Madison Square Park. Others required on-the-fly ingenuity. When he was turned away by the new Whitney Museum despite having a permit, Kim shot on the street outside. “I had to photograph everything guerrilla style, without a tripod,” he says.
While interviewing models and stylists about George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” music video on its twenty-fifth anniversary, Rogers learned how low-key the production had been. “There were no assistants or entourages. There were precisely two trailers for everyone. And the director, David Fincher, just told the glam team to make the models look good. That gave the video a freshness that probably wouldn’t happen today. And it helped establish the supermodel moment,” he says.
Lunski jumps through every last logistical hoop when she coordinates Allure photo shoots, and “Head Turners” was her biggest challenge to date. “I wear flats when I’m scouting, and I had them on for two weeks,” says the associate producer. Her proudest moments? “I found a cool workout place called TheRun. It’s like SoulCycle with treadmills. Then at a restaurant, I bought drinks for customers so they’d let us have the tables we needed.”
18 Allure • August 2015
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS’ CREDITS, SEE CREDITS PAGE.
PATRICK DEMARCHELIER
