Mario Testino taps Asian millennials for private photo work, as fashion shuns him over sex harassment claims
- World’s most high-profile fashion photographer has been approaching wealthy Southeast Asians for work, after Vogue and others stopped working with him
- Testino was recently in Myanmar, where he met Ivan Pun, Hong Kong lifestyle entrepreneur. ‘He is just a friend,’ Pun says
Embattled lensman Mario Testino, long considered the world’s most high-profile fashion photographer, has recently resurfaced in Asia.
Earlier this year, a damning report in The New York Times revealed accusations of sexual harassment from 13 male models. While Testino denied the allegations, he has since been shunned by the global fashion community.
Shortly after the allegations were made public, Condé Nast, the publisher of magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, announced that they would stop working with him. Fashion labels Michael Kors, Burberry and Stuart Weitzman also cut ties with the photographer, who in his 30-year-long career has shot everyone from the late Princess Diana to Madonna and Oprah Winfrey.
While Testino has kept a low profile since the story came out, he has recently approached wealthy millennials in Southeast Asia for private photo sessions, the Post has learned.
The Post could not independently confirm the information, but an Instagram search showed that Testino travelled to Yangon, Myanmar, at the end of November, where he and his team met Ivan Pun Chi-ching, founder of Pun + Projects, a lifestyle company that operates restaurants and galleries in Yangon and Hong Kong.