New backstage photos reveal the lives of '90s supermodels in their heyday
Ladin's new book and gallery show is made up of photos taken between 1994 and 2002.
"For many years I had been playing around with [the idea of] combining my supermodel pictures from the 1990s with text from the Bret Easton Ellis’ novel "Glamorama,"" Ladin told Business Insider. The book, written in 1998, satirizes celebrity culture of the 90s.
!["For many years I had been playing around with [the idea of] combining my supermodel pictures from the 1990s with text from the Bret Easton Ellis’ novel "Glamorama,"" Ladin told Business Insider. The book, written in 1998, satirizes celebrity culture of the 90s.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-54799100,width-700,height-525,imgsize-52191/for-many-years-i-had-been-playing-around-with-the-idea-of-combining-my-supermodel-pictures-from-the-1990s-with-text-from-the-bret-easton-ellis-novel-glamorama-ladin-told-business-insider-the-book-written-in-1998-satirizes-celebrity-culture-of-the-90s-.jpg)
While humor plays a large role in Ladin's work, he made it clear it's never meant to be mean-spirited.
"Humor is very important to me," he said. "While hoping to steer the viewer into considering society’s excesses, I also try to entertain them with comedy. Everywhere I go I seem to notice the “human comedy” that’s all around us."
Ladin reflected on the invisible feeling he experiences while documenting events like this.
"For the most part, celebrities and socialites ignored me at the functions I was hired to document. This was partly due to my physical stature and the manner that I photograph. To a certain extent, they also thought of me as the hired help — I felt that I was somehow invisible at those events, and that state of being benefited my way of working," he said.
Ladin prefers photographing backstage rather than the runway show, which he described as "a hellish experience that I try to avoid at any cost" due to over-crowded risers, packed with photographers.
According to Ladin, the title "Supermodels at the End of Time," is a nod to the end of the 20th century, and is also inspired by science fiction and comic book genres.
"It’s been 20 years since some of the images were shot and it's the perfect time to revisit this era that now seems quaint in its decadence and narcissism compared to what we are seeing today," Ladin said.
"These days at private events it's extremely challenging to capture an interesting, candid moment," he said.
"Everyone is aware of mobile phones and social media. Public relations operatives now control the celebrity scene down to every minute moment."
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