'HEROIN CHIC'
In the 90's, fashion is seeking for 'realness' and people want to show reality even if it's harsh or 'raw'. A new wave of photographers inspired by Larry Clarks and Nan Goldin quickly emerged, Davide Sorrenti was one of them. Embodied by the Sorrenti family's youngest prodigy, the teenager challenged fashion magazines' aesthetic by devoting a huge part of his work to 'the notion of addiction'. Davide forced the world to see its own reflection through his lenses. By glamourising drug addiction, he created his own trademark which later became the trend called: HEROIN CHIC.
Lean models who look 'inanimated', tired and lost became the new trend. However, Davide's overdose in 1997 raised the issue of the impact of drug consumption by teens. In an open letter adressed to influential people in fashion, Davide's mother the fashion photographer Francesca Sorrenti, accused them of being responsible for glamourising such practices.
"Yes, I guess he [Davide Sorrenti] did slightly see the glamorous side ... He also saw the real side of it. And he glamourised it himself, which is the sad thing. It was a whole circle. He glamourised it, and got caught up in it a bit"
- Matt Jones
11.09.18 : SEE KNOW EVIL, a documentary based on Davide Sorrenti's life.
