You're My Obsession: Juergen Teller + Marc Jacobs

The first time I lived in Los Angeles one of my hobbies was ignoring my marital problems by way of purchasing lots of things that I couldn’t afford – clothing, an impractical (but lovely) modern chair, designer handbags, sunglasses, poncho sweater thingies, Ugg boots, whatever.

I remember the sunny day that I finally gave in and adopted that black leather Marc Jacobs Sophia bag from Nordstrom at The Grove. I had been visiting her for at least a month, but spending $1200 on a purse even seemed illogical to me back then. Then I caved. Probably after looking at yet another fabulous Marc Jacobs ad campaign shot by Juergen Teller.

It’s hard to know which came first – my obsession with Sofia Coppola or my brief love affair with all things Marc Jacobs. I’m guessing it was Sofia that led to Marc that led to Juergen, the German-born, London-based über talented photographer. He does a ton of fashion work and has worked extensively with Marc Jacobs, Céline, and Vivienne Westwood. He shot Winona Ryder after Marc Jacobs hired her post-shoplifting trial, and has photographed Sofia Coppola several times.

When I was searching for these Marc Jacobs ad campaigns to share with you, I also found some other great photographs that Juergen took, like these of Björk in 1993. The shot of the Icelandic singer with her young son makes me melt, and I had to find Debut on Rhapsody when I saw the black and white shots from Big Time Sensuality.

Juergen’s exhibition Woo! at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London ended this spring . I wish I could have been there. Take a look at the video below and he’ll walk you through it. Some of his work has a dreamy look to it, others seem just slightly overexposed making the image look clean and bright.

Bonus Material

Video Interview: Juergen Teller: Exposed on Nowness

Book: Ohne Titel by Juergen Teller, Cindy Sherman, Marc Jacobs

Here’s some random Marc Jacobs awesomeness for you guys. I can’t find any information about the photographer or stylists for this top photo, but it was featured in the November 2009 issue of Elle Magazine. The middle shot is Marc’s recent collaboration with Diet Coke, and the last shot was photographed by Stéphane Sednaoui and it’s hot. Just saying.