Hollywood Pinups

SYNOPSIS

In the 1980s, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original Varga Girl’s first appearance in Esquire, the magazine commissioned Timothy White to create a contemporary version of the perennially popular pinup. Simultaneously paying homage to Vargas yet completely reinventing the form, White created a series of pin-up portraits of the hottest actresses and models at the time. White’s portraits were comparable to Vargas’ in their poses, attitude, and playfulness, but were over the top in their creative approach, imagination, and use of digital technology.

White began by shooting most of the models completely nude (Vargas, by the way, drew his images as nudes, too, but was forced to draw on their clothes at Esquire’s insistence!), save for high-heeled shoes and “embellishments” such as dozens of real diamonds used as gloves and pasties! Through a digital process, White then “created” clothes for his models-and the ultimate effect was unbelievable. Imagine supermodel Vendela looking back over her shoulder in translucent lingerie; Cindy Crawford, nude save for a leopard bra and cuffs; Christie Brinkley in black combat boots and racy “camouflage”; Tyra Banks floating in a sea of bubbles, nude except for “white pantyhose” and heels.

These gorgeous portraits, which also included Bridget Hall, Stephanie Seymour, Elle McPherson, Rachel Williams, Naomi Campbell, Elizabeth Berkley, and Angie Everhart, appeared one at a time over a period of over a year as a regular feature in the magazine. Esquire then went on to use the images in a major advertising campaign. Models and starlets participated because it was great-and very tasteful-publicity.

White’s work was featured on this project on television on E!, ABC and Fox-TV.

Included stars:

• Jennifer Beals
• Rose Byrne
• Cindy Crawford
• Elisha Cuthbert
• Rebecca De Mornay
• Melissa George
• Gina Gershon
• Lauren Graham
• Angie Harmon
• Kate Hudson
• Felicity Huffman
• Regina King
• Téa Leoni
• Jennifer Morrison
• Ashley Olsen
• Mary-Kate Olsen
• Denise Richards
• Susan Sarandon
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler
• Molly Sims
• Michelle Trachtenberg
• Kate Walsh
• Vanessa Williams

Dior has provided all the makeup and styling; Christian Louboutin, the shoes; and Levive Diamonds, the jewels for the shoots. A portion of the author’s proceeds will go to Oxfam.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Timothy White is a prolific and one of the most sought-after photographers in the United States. He has contributed to covers of virtually every high-profile publication, including Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Entertainment Weekly. He has photographed hundreds of movie posters for Hollywood’s top studios (Sony, Paramount, and Universal), dozens of album covers (Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Bon Jovi), and dozens of the world’s top musicians and actors (Harrison Ford, Reba McIntyre, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Paul Newman, Eve, Nicolas Cage, Liza Minnelli, Mel Gibson, Sharon Stone, Susan Sarandon, and on and on).

White has been named one of the most important people in photography by American Photo. He is the recipient of numerous photography and film awards, including International Photographer of the Year in 2004. His work is in the collections of the Newark and Hudson River Museums, Fahey Klein Gallery and the Polaroid Collection. He has two books in print: TIMOTHY WHITE: PORTRAITS (Rizzoli, 2002, $50) and INDIAN LARRY (Merrell, April 2006, $49.95). He lives in New York City.

Christopher Napolitano is the editorial director of Playboy magazine, a position he has held since 2004. Prior to that, he served as executive editor, overseeing a variety of fiction and non-fiction pieces. He has worked with a wide range of writers, including Norman Mailer, T.C. Boyle, Thom Jones, Ethan Coen, Pete Dexter, Bob Shaccochis, and Chuck Palahniuk. He lives in New York City.

Christian Louboutin is one of the world’s foremost women’s shoe designers. In 2007, he was named Shoe Designer of the Year at the Red Carpet Awards.