Biography
Mario Sorrenti exploded on to the fashion scene in the 1990s, largely due to his sexually charged editorial work, published in American and Italian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
The Naples-born photographer grew up in New York where he studied painting and sculpture. Sorrenti was born into an artistic family, with his creative director and fashion designer mother. He was drawn to London working as a model, where he met Kate Moss who was a newcomer at the time. The pair soon fell in love, while Sorrenti picked up a camera at age 20 and captured his then girlfriend. Eventually, Sorrenti cemented his place at the top of the industry by shooting Kate Moss in Calvin Klein ’s iconic Obsession campaign. Klein adored Sorrenti’s intimate photos, and sent him to the British Virgin Islands with Kate to recreate the images for his 1985 campaign. as well as for The Face magazine. Today, Sorrenti has captured dozens of influential figures including Oprah, Barbra Streisant, Julianne Moore and Joe Biden.
In 2012 alone, Sorrenti shot for Vanity Fair, Vogue Hommes, W, The New York Times T, Self Service and the French, Italian and Japanese editions of Vogue. Unsurprisingly, Sorrenti’s commercial work is equally popular. His advertising clients include Chanel, Hugo Boss , Max Mara, Kenzo and Barneys New York and Lancôme.
In 2011, Sorrenti published Draw Blood for Proof, a one-to-one reproduction of an exhibition he put on in 2004. Sorrenti’s work is also permanently exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Gallery in London, and has appeared at various other locations in New York, Monaco and Paris. He has also shot the covers of notable artists including Sharkira, Maxwell and John Taylor. In 2018, Sorrenti released a compilation of unreleased images of Kate Moss in a book titled, “Kate”, in partnership with Phaidon.