Getting to know some of the well damn good photographers isn’t much of a joke but very few made their way into brands and even the luxurious ones.
Petra Collins is an artist, model, and director of photography who set the stylistic tone and made a new name for herself in the early 2010s. Her enormous impact in style made a gigantic change in the world of fashion and arts. Her style? You’ll know it’s her when you see one.
Her style mostly revolves on intimate portraits of sweet young faces under soft pastel lighting, defying the aesthetic of the social media era.
Petra Collins grew in Toronto photographing her family and friends, showing the ‘raw and relaxed’ look. What made her famous and known in this industry is through a controversy. In 2013, she collaborated with an American apparel on a T-shirt with an illustration of a menstruating vagina—and that story, sparked both stories in praise and condemnation. The rest is history.
From there, she became a self-sought fashion photographer and portraitist shooting popular celebrities like Cardi B, Selena Gomez, Zendaya—incorporating the “female gaze” in an entertainment industry that’s still too dominated by men.
THE PETRA COLLINS IMPACT
Her photography explores around contemporary femininity, identity, self-discovery, and matters important to the millennial generation. She was mentored by Richard Kern and after that, she has since shot editorial for some well-known fashion publications in the world including Elle and Vogue.
Her collaborators include the creative director of Gucci, Alessandro Michele and the founder of Rookie Magazine, Tavi Gervinson.
HER WORKS
Petra Collins’ works are truly outstanding. Some of her notable works include:
The Ardorous – This website she created was featured in different international magazines. She invited young artists and photographers around the world to capture and create their own interpretation that would resonate women.
Discharge – This is Petra’s first book and it talks about experiences and presentation of identity and femininity—exploring the public and private realities of growing up as a woman in New York.
Petra Collins: Coming of Age – This monograph was created containing some personal essays, family photographs, and handwritten letters from young girls.
OMG I’m Being Killed – This is Petra Collins’ book about her unique take on fashion magazines, featuring photos that are colorful, feminine, and confrontational.
CONCLUSION
Key takeaway is that art is everywhere. It’s creating something that is unique out from the usual. Creativity works that way – art controversies, pulling out some random visuals from the mundane. Petra Collins’ aesthetic made her one of the leading voices of the movement many are calling the ‘New Wave Feminism’. She also created campaigns for Gucci, Nordstrom, Adidas, and many more.
To get to know more of her works, you can check her website here.
