Paul Popper - Twiggy (1966)
Paul Popper - Twiggy (1966)
David Bowie & Twiggy, from the cover shoot for Bowie’s Pin Ups, 1973, by Justin de Villeneuve.
“[Twiggy and I] met Bowie a few times socially, and he mentioned that he wanted to be the first man on the cover of Vogue. I called them to suggest this, with Twiggy, of course, and after a bit of a hoo-ha, they agreed.
Bowie was working on Pin Ups in Paris, so we flew there to do the shoot. When Twigs and Bowie were together and lit up, I looked through the viewfinder and realised that David was pure white, whereas Twiggy was tanned from a holiday in Bermuda. There was a moment of panic because I knew it would look bizarre; but the makeup artist suggested drawing masks on them, and this worked out even better.
I remember distinctly that I’d got it with the first shot. It was too good to be true.
When I showed Bowie the test Polaroids, he asked if he could use it for the Pin Ups record sleeve. I said: ‘I don’t think so, since this is for Vogue. How many albums do you think you will sell?’ ‘A million,’ he replied. ‘This is your next album cover!’ I said. When I got back to London and told Vogue, they never spoke to me again.”
Twiggy in a dress by Yves Saint Laurent photographed by Bert Stern, 1967
Twiggy by Terence Donovan
Twiggy photographed by Gunnar Larsen, January, 1967.
Twiggy for Paris Vogue
Twiggy photographed by Gunnar Larsen, January, 1967.