Ellen von Unwerth. Fraulein

They’re not your girls next door

Fashion and fetish in a female fantasyland

Ellen von Unwerth was a supermodel before the term was invented, so she knows a thing or two about photographing beautiful women. Now one of the world’s most original and successful fashion photographers, she pays homage to the world’s most delectable females in Fräulein. This celebration of our era’s sexiest female icons includes Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Vanessa Paradis, Britney Spears, Eva Mendes, Lindsay Lohan, Dita von Teese, Adriana Lima, Carla Bruni, Eva Green, Christina Aguilera, Monica Bellucci and dozens more.

Switching effortlessly between color and immaculate black and white, von Unwerth’s photography revels in sexual intrigue, femininity, romance, fetishism, kitsch humor, decadence and sheer joie de vivre. Whether nude or in lingerie and a dazzling smile, her subjects are never objectified. Some flaunt personal fantasies; others are guarded, suggesting that we have stumbled into a secret world. Fashion and fantasy were never so enchantingly combined. These images were shot over the last 15 years and many are previously unpublished.

The photographer:
Ellen von Unwerth worked as a top fashion model for 10 years, before taking up the camera and becoming one of the world's most in-demand fashion photographers. Her editorial work has featured in countless magazines, includingVogue, Interview, Vanity Fair and i-D, while her major advertising campaigns include Victoria’s Secret, Banana Republic, Guess, Diesel, and Chanel. In 1991 she was awarded first prize at the International Festival of Fashion Photography, and her work was featured in Archaeology of Elegance (2002) and Fashioning Fictionat MoMA/Queens (2004). Her many individual exhibitions include a one woman show at the Hamilton Gallery in London, and her photo-novella Revenge (2003) was accompanied by exhibitions in New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Moscow, and Beijing.

The author:
Ingrid Sischy is a Contributing Editor for Vanity Fair. A former staff writer, photography and fashion critic at The New Yorker, she was editor in chief ofInterview, 1989-2008. She has profiled Keith Haring, David Hockney, Jeff Koons, Nicole Kidman, and Madonna, among many others.