Power Couple

7 Questions for Inez and Vinoodh

The fashion photography duo talks to Toby Milstein about their latest projects and who they never want to photograph.

Illustrious fashion photography duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vindooh Matadin are on the move -- commemorating not one, but three, notable launches this week: a jewelry collection with Ten Thousand Things, a unisex fragrance with Byredo named "1996 Inez and Vinoodh," and a photography tome called Pretty Much Everything. As a bona fide “power couple” in the fashion industry, Inez and Vinoodh's photography spans everything from major brand campaigns to stunning portraits of pop culture icons. At their launch on September 7 at Barneys New York, the couple talks to Toby Milstein about their many projects, their relationship, and who they’re not interested in shooting, ever.

The Daily Beast: Is there a universal theme to all three of the launches: the book, the jewelry collection, and the fragrance?

Inez van Lamsweerde: All three items? The love between us, that’s what it’s all about.

DB: How did your romantic and professional collaboration begin?

IvL: In art school in 1986.

DB: Ah, so why 1996? Is there something significant with regard to that year?

IvL: Yes, because it’s ten years after we met.

Vindooh Matadin: And that’s when we moved to New York.

DB: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the fragrance?

IvL: We made that picture, it’s called “Kirsten 1996.” We always said to ourselves, if we ever do a fragrance, this is going to be the image that it’s based on. So when Ben [Gorham] asked us, I said okay lets start from this and the duality that’s in there: the darkness that lays underneath the sweetness. That’s how we created the scent.

VM: First they always create the scent and then the picture. And we said, how about we do it the other way around? First we’ll create the picture.

DB: Who is the person you’d most like to style and photograph in the future?

IvL: It’s hard because we just shot Prince and that was always the answer we had. So that happened.

DB: And who’s next for you two?

IvL and VM: Cher, probably.

DB: How about shooting Miley Cyrus?

IvL: No thanks!!

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