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For more than 30 years, photographer Willy Vanderperre has been captivating young people. Vanderperre has carved out a unique niche in the fashion industry, capturing the youthful essence of models like Giulia Nobis and Clément Chaberneau, with his fashion houses such as Dior, Prada, and Givenchy.
“It would be almost presumptuous to say that I understand young people. I am 53 years old and I am fully aware of that. It is impossible to understand young people today. My eyes Through them and through our experiences with children, we can interpret what youth is,” says Vanderperre.
Ahead of the opening of the exhibition “Willy Vanderperre Prints, Film, Rave and More…” at the Antwerp Fashion Museum MoMu, Vanderperre sits down with BoF Editor-in-Chief Tim Blanks to discuss his approach to image-making in creative collaborations . She has co-starred with Raf Simons and Olivier Rizzo, among others.
key insights
- While studying photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Vanderperre first met friends who would become his closest collaborators: Raf Simons, Olivier Rizzo, and Peter Philips. “We all grew up in different parts of Belgium, we all have very different backgrounds, and we all come from different subcultures, so I think that’s what brought us together at some point.”
- Rave and hedonistic subcultures are an important element of his body of work. “Of course I had to include rave. My main focus has always been and always will be youth. I was indulging in the lifestyle,” he said.
- Vanderperre regards challenge, both for himself and his audience, as a defining feature of his work. “What is a beautiful painting? Does it always have to be beautifully lit or perfectly lit? … Technique is important, but it's a tool and you should play with it. I think so,” he explains.
- Vanderperre keeps his work philosophy simple. “I love the idea of observing that character, creating it, bringing it to life, and being genuinely interested in that person in front of the camera,” he says. “I think for the past 30 years we've been trying to represent young people through our own eyes.”
