When it came to photographing the extraordinary cast of women who appear on the cover of this collector’s edition of British Vogue, there was only one man for the job: Peter Lindbergh. “It was one of those brilliantly spontaneous moments when HRH The Duchess of Sussex and I had exactly the same idea at exactly the same time,” says Edward Enninful, of the choice. “Peter sees beauty in real people, in real situations. He makes everybody feel their best.”
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The German photography titan boasts a long history with British Vogue, but it was his now-famous January 1990 cover, featuring a gang of supermodels, that was the reference for the Forces for Change issue. “Natural” was a word that came up repeatedly in cover discussions. “I hate retouching, I hate make-up. I always say, ‘Take the make-up off!’” Lindbergh, 74, confirms. “The number of beautiful women who have asked me to lengthen their legs or move their eyes further apart…” he breaks into a laugh. “You would not believe. It’s a culture of madness.”
The images for the ambitious cover shoot were captured in June, over three continents and several days. Pulling the portfolio together required gargantuan effort: co-ordinating the diaries of 15 of the world’s most successful and phenomenally busy women left little margin for missteps. Two separate shoots took place in studios in New York and London. “My instructions from the Duchess were clear: ‘I want to see freckles!’” says Lindbergh, who spoke to her over the phone on the morning of the New York shoot. “Well, that was like running through open doors for me. I love freckles.”
Between New York and London, there was a special moment in Stockholm, outside Sweden’s Parliament House, where climate activist Greta Thunberg stages her weekly school strikes. With Thunberg unwilling to compromise on her “no-fly” policy (she is responsible for the proliferation of the word “flygskam”, or “flight shame”, in Scandinavian countries), Lindbergh travelled to Sweden. She gamely posed for him holding her handmade sign. “I was expecting someone a little, how can I say… automatic with her answers,” says Lindbergh. “But she was so far from this. She was so thoughtful, so warm, and I was determined to get a picture of her smiling. Within two minutes she was laughing.”
The fourth shoot – in a first for British Vogue and for Lindbergh – took place via video link. Jacinda Ardern, the esteemed Prime Minister of New Zealand, was captured in Auckland at 10 o’clock on a sunny Sunday morning by Lindbergh in his London studio at 11 o’clock on a Saturday night. “I was already in love with Jacinda,” says the photographer. “She’s not a politician who talks about social housing then drives away in a sports car. She was so funny and kind, and, I have to say, extremely beautiful.”
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The photographs in the portfolio capture a group with impressive influence. “All the women were different, but they each had something special,” considers Lindbergh. “Sometimes I worry I am becoming an old shmuck, but it was wonderful to photograph this project.”
The feeling is mutual. “It’s a monumental moment and a real coup to have Peter’s images back in the pages of British Vogue,” says Edward. “I am so thrilled and hugely honoured that he could capture the true personalities of our 15 forces for change.”
