April 14, 2010

The Corleones of Fashion Photography

This is my homage to the Sorrenti kids...each one an incredibly talented photographer.

MARIO SORRENTI - born 1971

The oldest sibling and probably one of the top 3 best fashion photographers of all time, Mario's career exploded when he was discovered in 1990 by Calvin Klein and was commissioned to shoot a raw and ultra natural ad campaign featuring Kate Moss, his girlfriend at the time.

His career has featured advertising campaigns for leading fashion houses and brands including Prada, Longchamp and Yves Saint Laurent and his editorial work is featured in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and AnOther Magazine.


Raquel Zimmerman

Lara Stone

Natasha Poly

Mario at Hemingway Bar at The Ritz in Paris

Mario photographed by Kate Moss '92

Kate Moss for Longchamp


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VANINA SORRENTI - born 1973

The middle sibling, Vanina, started her career in fashion as a stylist around 1993. Her friendship with Armelle Leturq, from Crash magazine, helped get her started with her photography career.

Vanina has been shooting the likes of Kate Moss, Bridget Hall and Shalom Harlow to name a few. She's done editorials for magazines such as i-D, British Vogue, and Nylon, as well as advertising campaigns for fashion brands like Chloe.


Kate Moss

Shalom Harlow i-D Winter '09

Cato Van Ee




Lydia Hearst

Lara Stone for i-D January '06

Vanina getting close to Cedric Bouchet

DAVIDE SORRENTI - born 1976-1997

The youngest sibling and probably the most controversial, Davide was raised in Lower East Side New York and quickly stepped into the void of substance abuse.

At 17, Davide met famous model and actress, James King (a.k.a Jamie King), herself a heroin addict at the time, and started a relationship that would last until his death at the age of 20. He died from a kidney ailment, possibly caused by a combination of his illness, Thalassemia a very rare case of hereditary anemia that made him look much younger than he was, and his excessive heroin use.

He enjoyed taking photographs of friends and his environment and developed a very dark style that people would later label as "heroin chic" with young skinny waif-models appearing as drug addicts.

His battle with Thalassemia lead to Mario's photo documentary called "The Machine", that was later turned into a book.


James King 1

James King 2

James King 3

James King 4

Self Portrait

Davide and his mother, Francesca

From Mario Sorrenti's "The Machine"

3 comments:

  1. Nicely done. Thank you. Steve

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  2. thank you. I'm interested in this talented family. Especially Davide. I did not know of him till recently. It is hard to accept he is no more. He seems a brilliant and beautiful person. RIP Davide.

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  3. They have a half sister, Valeria Sorrenti, by their father, too, who is a New York street photographer. And Marios daughter, Gray, is now a photographer as well.

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