Legendary fashion photographer Steven Meisel has been named this year's Master of Photography at Photo London 2026. Despite his prolific output, Meisel rarely speaks to the press and never uses social media, having published very little and held only a handful of public exhibitions. This rare showing highlights his work in London, particularly his iconic Anglo-Saxon Attitude series.
A Rare Exhibition
The exhibition, titled Steven Meisel: Master of Photography, will be held at Olympia, London, from 13 to 17 May. Guardian readers can use the code GUARDIAN to redeem 20% off tickets. Co-founder Michael Benson, who has worked with Meisel before, said: "Steven's agreement to present a group of London portraits is a rare and special thing for the fair."
The Anglo-Saxon Attitude Series
Meisel's first professional assignment in London came after his collaboration with Madonna on her iconic book Sex, which gave him the freedom to work on a sprawling project over several weeks. He came to London to work with Isabella Blow on Anglo-Saxon Attitude for British Vogue. Meisel recalled: "Issie just gave me all these different pictures of society girls she knew."
One of them was Stella Tennant, who enchanted Meisel: "I fell in love with Stella, with everything about Stella. What an incredible model. She would sit there reading books in Chinese. She was just great."
Capturing London's Anarchic Fashion
Meisel coached each model to achieve the exact pose and attitude he envisioned. Working in locations ranging from alleyways in Spitalfields and docklands to canal locks, towpaths, and streets of Notting Hill and Portobello Road, his portraits captured London's anarchic sense of fashion. In a crowded London pub, Meisel had Vogue fashion assistant Plum Sykes pose on a table in a silver bikini while jaded punters watched football.
Sykes, who later worked with Alexander McQueen, described Meisel as "mesmeric" – a word echoed by models like Honor Fraser, Lady Louise Campbell, and Bella Freud. Freud summed up the punk spirit: "You had to deconstruct your manners and be as rude as possible."
Meisel's Influence and Legacy
Meisel's understanding of all aspects of fashion is unparalleled, and his influence has nurtured numerous models' careers. His portraits are a spectacular testament to his ability to see what others miss: "I think I'm good with discovering people, whether or not they are a model. I see things in them that they might not see."
Meisel was commissioned to create a 10-page spread on Twiggy for Italian Vogue. Unbeknown to Twiggy, Meisel had met her once before when he was 12, having bunked off school to watch her during her first New York shoot in 1967. Other subjects include Marlon Richards, son of Keith Richards, who frequently appeared in Meisel's work during the early 1990s, and Lucy Ferry, captured in Paris wearing Christian Lacroix for Vogue Italia.
