MARIO SORRENTI
PHOTOGRAPHER / DIRECTOR
Mario Sorrenti has been an important part of contemporary fashion photography since he came onto the scene in the early 1990s. Born in Naples, Italy, Sorrenti grew up in New York and as a young adult quickly developed a love for experimenting with image-making predominantly through photography, but also painting.
Sorrenti’s photographs are characterized by confident, experimental compositions and a sophisticated use of color and light. He has shot for Vogue Hommes, French Vogue, Italian Vogue, W, The New York Times, Self Service, iD, Document, and Another, among other publications. His commercial clients include Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Chanel, Bulgari, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Tom Ford, Dior Beauty, Estée Lauder, Shiseido, Revlon and Yves Saint Laurent.
Sorrenti has published several books, including most recently his “Kate” book by Phaidon. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery both in London.
WILLOW DEFEBAUGH
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ATMOS MAGAZINE
Willow Defebaugh is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Atmos, a nonprofit biannual magazine and digital platform curated by a global ecosystem of artists, activists, and writers devoted to ecological and social justice, creative storytelling, and re-enchantment with the natural world. She writes a weekly newsletter called The Overview which offers a holistic look at life on Earth through the lens of deep ecology.
Prior to Atmos, Willow was an editor at V Magazine, CR Fashion Book, and L’Officiel USA. She has been featured in US Vogue, Vogue China, i-D, BBC, the Guardian, them, New York Magazine, and more.
HANS ULRICH OBRIST
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE SERPENTINE
The leading light in transdisciplinary approaches to cultural experience, Hans Ulrich Obrist is a global curator and artistic director based between London and Zurich. Consistently connecting the dots between emerging artists and art historical thought, the Swiss curator’s innovative practice and deep curiosity has made him one of the most influential creative tastemakers of the past two decades.
Known for his long-standing role as Artistic Director of the Serpentine, Obrist has curated over 300 shows in his career to date and written and edited numerous books, including 2015’s influential ‘Ways of Curating’ and, in 2021, ‘140 Artists’ Ideas for Planet Earth,’ a manifesto that also serves to demonstrate his ongoing dedication to sustainability and combating the climate crisis. Applying this spirit of expansiveness in his collaborations with brands, Obrist’s keen eye for cultural shifts makes him a kind of soothsayer for our time: creating experiences for global audiences that feel like a summons from the future.
Named by ArtReview as the number one most influential person in contemporary art twice, Obrist is a luminary who continues to push the art world forward by constantly questioning its outdated categories – and by applying his unique expertise to break the boundaries between fashion and technology, physical and digital culture.
MARINA TESTINO
ADVOCATE FOR SUSTAINABLE FASHION
After graduating from Parsons in Fashion Marketing in 2017, Marina established her career as a Creator, Connector and Strategist in the niche space of sustainable fashion and conscious consumerism.
Marina is uniquely tapped into the new generation of consumers who are holding brands to higher social and environmental standards. Her activations and connections help fashion brands, tech investors and consumers alike move towards a much needed reset for the fashion industry.
Marina has worked with brands such as Stella McCartney, Gucci, Fekkai; Organizations like Green Peace, United Nations, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and technology companies like Pentatonic, Oritain, and Pyratex.
JEROME FOSTER II
CLIMATE ACTIVIST
Jerome Foster II is a 21-year-old environmental justice activist, keynote speaker, youngest-ever White House Advisor in U.S. History, and Co-founder & Co-Executive Director at Waic Up. He studied International Environmental Governance, Policy, and Social Justice at Harvard University and was invited to speak at the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights. Jerome helped to pass the Clean Energy DC Act (one of the most comprehensive decarbonization bills being implemented in the nation).
As a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council in the Biden administration, Jerome has been a leading voice for Black and indigenous visibility in climate activism. He is one of the lead organisers of Fridays for Future Washington and has held weekly climate strikes at the front gates of the White House for over 57 weeks. Jerome gained international recognition after being the first consecutive climate striker in Washington, and being interviewed by Former Vice President Al Gore at the Atlanta Climate Reality Leadership Training in March 2019.
His experience in climate activism extends further via his work with National Geographic, where he journeyed across the island of Iceland as a Climatology Researcher and Virtual Reality Developer.
SHAWAY YEH
FOUNDER OF YEHYEHYEH
Shaway Yeh is one of China’s key opinion leaders in Fashion and Culture. Under Yeh’s editorial direction Modern Weekly reaches China’s elite readers with the latest international news, trends, and cultural discussion and became China’s most influential lifestyle publication.
In 2017 she also became co-creative director of the global video channel NOWNESS. Yeh is an advisor to Copenhagen Fashion Summit and Green Carpet Fashion Award and has been using her media outreach to advocate issues related to sustainability and innovation.
She founded the consultancy agency yehyehyeh to push forward the sustainability agenda among Chinese brands and designers, bringing together sustainability, creativity and innovation to instigate value-based change.
GIOVANNI TESTINO
FOUNDER OF ART PARTNER
Since 1992, Art Partner co-founder Giovanni Testino has led the agency known for its roster of fashion creatives and production. With nearly 30 years at the helm, Testino has grown the agency from a core focus on fashion photography to include styling and creative direction as well as hair and make-up divisions – ultimately becoming an important source of creative talent and content development across fashion, luxury, beauty and technology.
Testino studied Economics in California before travelling to Peru to pursue work in the shipping industry in the 1980s. Excelling at his work and quickly building robust shipping business relationships, Mario Testino urged his brother to swap ores and concentrates for photography. With an aim to start their own business venture, the siblings opened the first Art Partner office in New York, capitalising on the city’s explosive creative scene.
Art Partner offers a fully integrated approach to its brand collaborations, which includes creative development and image consulting, as well as film and production, in-house digital content strategy and distribution, fashion consultation, image syndication, and production services from the agency’s offices in New York, London, and Paris.
Today, the roster of creatives includes Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Mario Sorrenti, Glen Luchford, Harley Weir, Alasdair McLellan, David Sims, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Tyler Mitchell, Marie Chaix, Lucia Pica, Ezra Petronio, and Ferdinando Verderi, among others.
Among the agency’s many advertising clients, Art Partner frequently works with the likes of Gucci, Chloé, Burberry, Versace, Prada, Puig, Valentino, and Lancôme. Art Partner has also worked on campaigns in the technology and the food and beverage industries, teaming up with clients such as Apple, Samsung, and The Macallan among others.
