Image-Maker Paolo Roversi
Paolo Roversi captures fashion as reverie, distilling movement, identity, and silhouette into haunting compositions that resist the urgency of the present.
Paolo Roversi, Untitled (Portrait of Kate Moss), c. 1996. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of Paolo Roversi and Pace Gallery. A spectral study in intimacy, Roversi captures Moss mid-gesture — her hand shielding one eye as if resisting the gaze, yet drawing us closer. Rendered in grain-soft monochrome, the image dissolves the boundary between subject and surface, turning a moment of concealment into an enduring meditation on presence, vulnerability, and ephemeral beauty. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Paolo Roversi is a reputable Italian fashion photographer who is widely known for his work in Paris over the recent decades. Not long ago, his work was shown at the Palais Galliera in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris. Displayed along alternating grey and deeply red walls, and intentional lighting, Roversi’s work tells narratives that have altered the function of fashion photography today. Roversi focuses on soft imagery, often utilizing monochromatic greys and blacks in his photographs. He emphasizes that various components of fashion collaborate to tell a story of the mind, body and soul, not neglecting the ode to style and expression. His models are placed at the point of focus, keeping symmetry on each side of his subjects. Roversi frequently captures the models in garments that are vibrant and expressive, creating a blurred effect around them with black and grey backdrops. He shoots these individuals from head to toe, displaying their full length and stature. Each subject is pictured with a confident stance, a sense of belonging and vivid eloquence.
Paolo Roversi’s photograph, Roos, in PACE Gallery (2017). Model becoming an amalgamation of pastels. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
In addition to his personal work, Roversi has had various notable collaborations, namely with Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto– both of which have taken strides in avant garde fashion. He focuses on both film and digital work, using the two forms in tandem to create exposed and eerie images of his subjects and their accessories. The artist’s images prioritize texture and seduction. In each photograph, both the model and their fashion are framed as inextricably linked and mutually dependent on each other. Not discriminating in his subjects of capture, Roversi emphasizes the boundless nature of identity and gender. Photographing men and women in the same style, he displays the ability and nature to hold both femininity and masculinity at once.
Monochromatic, ghostly image of Audrey, by Paolo Roversi (2016) in PACE Gallery. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
In each exhibit of Roversi’s work lies a link between time and impact in fashion. He frequently captures his subjects in motion, expressing the temporality of style and trends, and creating a long-lasting memory of his images through long exposure. While Roversi’s models are typically seen in movement, the brief moment of stillness is elongated through his lens. In an age of rushing life and experiences, in wasting away days sucked into short-form content, Roversi reminds us of a slow life. He reminds us that memories are enduring, and points in time– in fashion and style– should be noted as such as well.
Roversi’s images don’t just resonate physically and aesthetically, but haunt you with feelings even after you leave the dimly lit room. There is a lingering mystery that is ever present in his work, one that cannot be replicated.
What’s next for Roversi? Likely, he will participate in more collaborations with big fashion houses, and further challenge the quotas in the realm of fashion photography. Roversi will continue to expand his impact on temporality in fashion, boundless identity and blurring the lines between space and time, insisting that we slow down with him.
