Esther: I worked with Tiziano on several projects early on in my career and working with him is a great pleasure, it takes me back to the Nineties…in a very nice way. Tiziano is a very talented, passionate man that I am very happy to see him back behind the camera.

Tiziano: Esther was great to work with. She allowed herself to become a canvas for my imagination, but was also very interested in collaborating on our creative project during the shoot, the whole team, model, make-up, hair stylists, assistants, became an integral part of the pictures.

Esther: He is very easy to work with and that made my choice of doing these particular photos with him much easier. I feel a very nice trust working with him knowing that he knows what he is doing and that the results are always beautiful and classic.

Tiziano: Esther embodies what has been attracting me more and more over the last few years. The harmony of physical beauty and inner harmony. External beauty only exists for a flicker of a second, and disappears when we turn the page. Inner beauty lingers, creates a memory Just like the artists that inspired the layout of this story: Cy Twombly, David Salle , Mark Rothko and Not Vital. Their works I always want to come back to. Just like I could with Esther.

Esther: Tiziano reached out to me explaining the core and inspiration of the story and where I fit in, because of that, before we started shooting the photographs we were on the same page and a lot of direction was not needed.

Tiziano: I see “Bandage” as a play on ‘bondage’. The sweet tying-to that fashion creates for us. Soft ribbons create masks, clothes and swim suits. They allow us to become something different–play with our sense of identity. I like it when fashion become a tool in playing with something deeper: our sense of self, the persona we present to the world.

Esther: It took two days, most of the looks were time consuming and a process. A process that I knew little about, and I walked away having learned and experienced something entirely new and amazing thanks to Midori and her amazing talent and skill.

Tiziano: Fashion can be like good theatre. It tells stories and allows us to become actors. This concept made me experiment with ‘bondage’ many years ago. But that was too harsh today, brought in other elements I did not want, such as power/powerlessness. The whole S and M thing. This story has much more sweetness and openness for me.

Esther: Thank you Tiziano, Midori, Dotti, Leonardo and Nathalie for the story, and the wonderful assistants who had to endure my nakedness for 2 days.