Who is Steven Klein, the fashion photographer behind the new Skims campaign?

By

Chenu Alexis

Published
July 5, 2023

With the announcement of the forthcoming opening of Skims stores, Kim Kardashian unveiled a few days ago, a photo campaign shot by New York photographer Steven Klein, where Kardashian is pictured in pieces from the new Rubberized Scuba Swim and Faux Leather Swim collections, paired with black thigh-high boots and long black gloves.

Photographer for the Prada campaign in 2014 where Kim Kardashian revealed her buttocks while smoking a cigarette, Klein also lensed in 2017 a series of photographs of Kardashian appearing as a "new First Lady". He also photographed the erotic publication Richardson, where Kardashian appeared topless on the cover. 
 
“Steven and I have collaborated on so many iconic images over the years and I’m grateful that we once again have partnered on Skims for the new swim campaign,” said Kardashian, co-founder and creative director of Skims. “His creative touch and vision for this collection are exactly what make him the incredible photographer he is today.”

Born in 1961, Klein began his photographic career in the early 1990's in Paris, before moving to New York City where he still lives. For 30 years, Klein has shot high-profile advertising campaigns for various names including Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Nike. He is also a regular contributor to magazines including Vogue, Interview, V Magazine, W, Numero, i-D for which he photographed Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Julia Gardner, Björk, Kate Moss, Tom Ford and others.

Klein also produced in 2008 the French calendar for the 'Dieux du Stade' (Gods of the Stadium), a yearly publication which highlights French rugby athletes, and came out with its first monograph the same year published by Phaidon.
 
Steve Klein’s provocative and sexually charged photographies have also been exhibited in several museums. The first was at Deitch Projects in 2003, before a first solo show at the Gagosian Gallery in 2005 where he worked with actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a photographic narrative as an examination of the American family. Klein also exhibited at the Brancolini Grimaldi Gallery in Florence. 

“As a photographer I am inspired in collaborating with icons,” said Steven Klein. “Icons exert a magnetic pull that allows the viewer to superimpose a dream reality, a kind of hyper existence. Icons are symbols, the alphabet of desire. Kim speaks this language. Our work together has been an exploration of the power of the image, the beauty of experimentation/the alchemical process of Icon.”
 

Skims sells directly through its website, as well as through select partnerships with retailers including Nordstrom, Selfridges, Ssense, Net-a-Porter, Lane Crawford, Holt Renfrew and David Jones. The first Skims boutiques are scheduled to open in 2024.