Mario Testino is one of the world’s most well-known and celebrated fashion photographers. Born in Peru he moved to London in 1976 after completing his university studies and in the early 1980s began his career as a photographer. During this time Testino approached i-D and began contributing to the magazine. “When I started my career, i-D was an outlet for photography that was free and experimental,” he recalls. In 1984, Testino shot the cover of The Body and Soul Issue of i-D. Today he is a regularly contributor to British Vogue, American Vogue, Vanity Fair and V. Mario continues to shoot international celebrities as well as fashion photography. His commercial clients include Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Lancôme and Michael Kors. As well as having published nine books of his work, Mario has had some of the most successful photography exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world. In 2002, The National Portrait Gallery showed a major exhibition of Testino’s work, entitled ‘Mario Testino: Portraits’. When he’s not working, Testino is a humanitarian who works with a number of charities and recently won the Hero Award from the organisation Aid for Aids.
