Ellen von Unwerth is one of the most influential photographers of today, and, as a renowned protagonist in the male-dominated world of fashion photography – at least behind the camera – she is an exception. Equipped with a Leica S (Typ 007), Ellen von Unwerth put together a unique series for the S Magazine 8: without the limitations of a commercial assignment, but full of typical moments bursting with life. In a loosely associative series, we accompany a girl gang in search of happiness in the Wild West. The photographer’s refreshingly unconventional imagery thrives on a particular mixture of humour, cheekiness, frivolity and playfulness. For the S Magazine, von Unwerth was able to mobilise some big stars to join in the fun: multi-talent, Marilyn Manson, who plays a heavyweight, the actor Micah Fitzgerald, the musician Caroline Vreeland, and the performance artist Millie Brown. They all invite the viewers to take a closer look, and to allow themselves to be carried away by the film-like sequences.

S Magazine is a publication which gives back the creative freedom to the artists by letting them explore their visions with no restriction. It celebrates diversity, decadence and eroticism and inspires a new wave of openmindedness and artistic freedom of expression within the world of art, fashion and design. The web version of S Magazine 8 is HERE, printed issue is available at the Leica Gallery Bookstore.

Ellen von Unwerth was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1954; after spending her childhood in an orphanage, she went to Munich when she was 16 years old and worked as an assistant at Roncalli Circus until a photographer booked her for a photo shoot for the German magazine Bravo. This led to her discovery by the boss of Elite modelling agency. She moved to Paris where she spent the next ten years working as a top model with the greatest fashion photographers of the day. She took her own photographs for the first time in 1986 during a fashion production in Kenya. Today she lives and works in Paris and New York.