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1969 Revisited – Citroën DS
Few cars trigger as many emotions as the stunning Citroën DS – probably the most innovative car design to date. The “shark” car was a pioneer on many fronts and was built from 1955 to 1975. It was the first car to feature a self-leveling suspension, headlights that follow the direction of the wheels, a futuristic aerodynamic body, and a hydraulic suspension, clutch, and transmission.
Helmut Newton took some haunting images of the Citroën DS in 1969 for Citroën Italia’s calendar “Le DS vedono nella notte”. The series emphasized the futuristic look of the car with models wearing metallic outfits by Paco Rabanne. In my opinion, the following image is the most haunting of the series leaving many questions unanswered…
Helmut Newton for Citroën Italia (1969)
46 years later, on August 1st, 2014, I was shooting for fun with some friends. At the end of the shoot we tried to capture a similar shot to the one above:
Model: Katarina Skupinova
Make-up/Hair: Valérie Reding
Driver: Mike Krishnatreya
Some behind the scenes images featuring the Citroën DS:
Hey, I love it. The DS is a myth in France. The symbol of the carefree in the 60-70’S.
That recreation… it’s evocative, emotional… it’s wonderful!
It brings up so many feelings. She’s vulnerable, lost. Those sad dark eyes looking for a way out, a way to escape. You could gaze into those glimmering pools for all eternity and never reach the depths of her soul.
But it’s an illusion, she’s strong. Always keeping ahead of trouble, never stopping, never giving up. She’s not running from danger, she’s escaping one life for the next. It’s a nightmare and a summers dream melted into one. The rumble of reality slipping behind as she takes flight and follows her heart.
It makes me worry about her. It makes me want to hold her, to let her know she’s not alone. It makes me wonder who is chasing her and why. But most of all it makes me realise how very far away from her I am…
…that I’ll never catch up …that I shouldn’t try
It’s everything rare and wonderful about her, everything I cannot put into words. It’s what she is and how I see her…
Perfect. Beautiful. Untouchable.
It makes me cry. It always will.