NEWSWEEK JULY 20TH 1998
HIGH-FASHION FANTASIES
By Jennifer Lach

David LaChapelle is a 35-year-old fashion photographer who never outgrew playing make-believe.
He's shot Leonardo DiCaprio-clad in leather and red cowboy boots-holding the reins of a white horse in front of a Hollywood porn theater. Brooke Shields unzipped her jeans for him, a few strategic daps of whipped cream covering her bare chest. "His imagination has no brakes on it," James Truman, editorial director of Conde Nast magazines, once said. Born in Connecticut and raised in North Carolina, LaChapelle came to New York as a teenager and landed his first professional job at Andy Warhol's Interview magazine when he was just 18. His campy, whimsical style earned him fans among the fashion elite-and led to coveted celebrity shoots for magazines such as Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. Today his work extends beyond the fashion pages to advertising campaigns, music videos and short films. With a leather-clad mannequin resting on its hands and knees nearby, LaChapelle talked to NEWSWEEK'S Jennifer Lach at his New York studio.

LACH: What was your first roll of film?

LACHAPELLE: I was in high school, at North Carolina's School of the Arts. That place really saved me; in public school, I was an outcast and ridiculed for how I dressed. I made all my friends get naked and let me take their picture. That was my first roll.

How did you break into the New York arts scene?

After I finished high school, I came to New York, and that's when I met Andy Warhol. We were both backstage at a Psychedelic Furs concert at the Ritz. Warhol asked me to stop by his office and show him my pictures. All I had were shots of my naked high-school friends, so he said to come back in six months. When I went back, I was hired to do some work for Interview. It was the biggest thrill of my life to shoot for that magazine. I had shots in it nearly every issue for the next four years. People always ask me, "How did Andy influence your life?" Well, he started Interview. He provided a place for new, untried talent to get their pictures published. Outside of Interview, that opportunity just didn't exist.

How do you get people to do what you want in front of the camera?

When people meet me, I think they know I'm sincere about wanting to take a good photo of them. I set out to take the iconic photograph of a person. If Leonardo DiCaprio or Drew Barrymore had to pick out one photo that would sum them up, I hope mine would be the one. It's not my intention to expose people, their pimples or wrinkles. I like shooting exhibitionists, whether it's Faye Dunaway or a 14-year-old model.
What assignment really challenged you?

Recently I shot the women's U.S. Olympic hockey team, which won the gold medal. It was a challenging assignment because it was something I wouldn't ordinarily be considered for. The picture had to be celebratory, joyful; not twisted or over the top So I shot them naked behind an American flag. There was nothing erotic about it-I wanted to show a positive image of them, not just as giant girls covered in heavy equipment.

You've said your pictures lie. How so?

My pictures are entertainment, an escape from the world we live in today. I never deal with death and violence; they're too everyday. The celebrities who play the parts in my pictures are fantasies of how I want a movie star to look and act. There's no taboos. I like the idea that the women I photograph could just jump in bed with anyone at any moment. My work is honest because it's not parading itself as reality.

Is it tough to avoid repeating yourself?

I feel the responsibility to always up the ante. Every time I take a picture, I try to rise above the subject matter because my pictures take on a life of their own after they're published. My goal is to have my pictures torn out and saved, to have them wind up on people's walls. People are hungry for original work, for spontaneity and new ideas. I put a lot of time into the details of a shot. It's great to be appreciated for that.
What's the state of fashion photography?
It's completely acceptable to steal someone else's work and copy it. When fashion photographers copy Nan Goldin's or Larry Clark's work-take a model, grunge her up, put grease in her hair and stick her in a hideous set-they're taking work that belonged to someone else and not crediting them. In music, artists pay for the right to use someone else's work. We don't have that in photography. We're sending a bad message to kids in art school.

You've just turned 35. Do you catch yourself looking over your shoulder?

I realize that if you're not out there getting published every month, you can be forgotten in a few months. Think back to the artists and photographers who were hip back in the '70s, and few of them are around now. If you're a freelance photographer and think "you've arrived," you're fooling yourself. It's all about creating a body of work that's lasting.

Do you like being on the other side of the camera?

I'm a total exhibitionist, but I love letting other people act that way for me. I live vicariously through them.