Michel Comte


Michel Comte is a filmmaker and a fashion, portrait photographer. He regularly works with Vogue Italia, l'Uomo Vogue, Interview, Vanity Fair etc. He directed and produced The Girl from Nagasaki, his first feature film in 3D, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2014.

Early career

Comte was born on February 19, 1954 in Zürich, Switzerland. His grandfather was a Swiss aviation pioneer Alfred Comte. Comte studied in England and in France, then started his career in contemporary art restoration, specializing in the works of Andy Warhol and Yves Klein. He was interested in photography and when moving to Paris in 1979, he was discovered by Karl Lagerfeld, who gave him first international assignment for the fashion house of Chloe. Comte then started working for such publications as Vogue US, Vogue Italia, Per Lui, Vanity Fair, and fashion houses such as Emanuel Ungaro, Chanel, Giorgio Armani and so on.

Career

Comte produced many portraits including Jeremy Irons, Louise Bourgeois, Mike Tyson, Akira Kurosawa, Sharon Stone, Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Miles Davis, Vanessa Paradis. Many of his images are shot for his long-time friend and influencer Franca Sozzani, an editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. He continues to shoot for Vogue Italia. His advertising projects include Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, Lancôme, Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Hennessy, Davidoff, Gianfranco Ferre, Hermes, Trussardi, Pomellato, Celine, Givenchy, Zeiss and so on. He was awarded as Photographer of the year 2000 by PHOTO magazine.
Comte also followed the career of F1 driver Michael Schumacher.

Photo journalism

Comte is involved in photo-reportage and documentary. In collaboration with Pomellato and International Committee of the Red Cross, he contributed to the construction of the orthopaedic center in Kabul. He traveled in conflict areas such as Bosnia, Kosovo, South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and many others.

Film

Comte directed and produced his first feature film in 3D, The Girl from Nagasaki, retelling of the classic opera, Madame Butterfly, in which Puccini's tragic heroine, emerging from the ashes of the atomic bomb, begins her fateful story of obsession for an American pilot.

Books