Photographer · Graphic Designer · Musician · Artist
Years active
50+
Spouse
Louise Depointes
Steve Hiett (26 December 1940 – 28 August 2019)[1] was a British photographer, musician, artist and graphic designer based in Paris.[2]
Early life and education
Hiett was born on 26 December 1940 in Oxford. Later, his parents moved him and his sister from the East End of London to Lancing, West Sussex where they grew up.[3][4] From 1957 Hiett studied painting at Worthing Art School.[5][6] In 1959 he changed to Brighton Art School to study graphic design, he also began studying photography.[2][5]
Life and work
After studying he joined a psych/pop band, Pyramid.[2][5] This experience led to him photographing Jimi Hendrix backstage in the 1970s.[7][8] In addition Hiett began a series of photos of empty suburban streets that resulted in his first book, Pleasure Places (Flash Books, 1975).
In 1968 he began his career as a fashion photographer for Nova magazine.[5][9] In 1972 he moved to Paris and his work began to be published regularly in Marie Claire,[2]Vogue, and Elle.[citation needed] During the 1980s he worked as a photographer and developed his signature style of over-saturated images, off-centre framing and dazzling flash.[10][11] In the same period he made a guitar solo album in Japan for Sony/CBS: Down on the Road by the Beach accompanied by a photo book.[12] In the 1990s Hiett moved to New York City and did graphic design and typography.[13] There he met Carla Sozzani, who invited him to return to Paris and work for Vogue Italia.[6] Hiett photographed celebrities. He worked for the fashion magazines Marie Claire,[2]Vogue Italia,[2]The Face,[2]Vogue France,Vogue China,Vogue Russia,Vogue Spain,Harper's Bazaar,Visionnaire,Hunger,Nova,Elle,Spoon Magazine and Glamour. He worked for the brands Roberto Cavalli, Guy Laroche, Oscar de la Renta, Big, and Piaget.[6]
In 2014 he led the judging of the photography category at the Hyeres Festival,[14] during which a retrospective entitled Steve Hiett: The Song Remains the Same was held at Villa Noailles.[2][15]
Personal life
Hiett had a daughter and two grandchildren. In 2018, he married former fashion model and modelling agent Louise Despointes. He died aged 78 on 28 August 2019.[16][17]
Exhibitions
Down on the Road by the Beach, Galerie Watari, Tokyo, May 1983[citation needed]
Beyond Blonde. Munich: Prestel, 2015. Philippe Garner. ISBN978-3791381800. "Traces the evolution of his first shots, taken in Bromley of "simple pictures of quiet empty places" to his time as art director at Arthur Elgort's Model Manual and his ongoing work in fashion today."[2]
