Lifestyle
From Anna’s Assistant To Darling of Society Portraiture
Photo by Drew Altizer/SFwire
Claiborne Swanson Frank showcased her photo series “Indigo Light,” a collection of portraits of “the loves of her life”—including her sister Alexis Swanson Traina, Vanessa Getty, and designer Whitney Pozgay—in San Francisco’s Neiman Marcus last week. A former assistant to Anna Wintour, Swanson Frank dove into photography full time last year, on the encouragement of her friends and Vogue colleagues Lauren Santo Domingo and Ivan Shaw. Now, she’s hoping to bring back portraiture in a big way and has already logged some impressive commissions, photographing the homes of Santo Domingo and Amanda Brooks for Vogue, and signing on to create a book for Assouline. In between exchanging hugs with her family (of Swanson frozen dinners and Swanson Vineyards fame), Hamish Bowles, and others on Neiman’s couture floor, Swanson Frank sat down with NMdaily for a little one-on-one.
NM: How did you go from Vogue to having your own photography exhibit here today?
CSF: I went to the Academy of Art in San Francisco for fashion, and then I worked at Vogue for almost two years. After I left Vogue, I got married to James Frank and decided to [pursue] photography. I bought a digital camera and took a workshop, and right away I knew I wanted to photograph women of my world. All of the women in “Indigo Light” are great loves of my life. My passion is the portrait, and my hope was to capture these women in their greatest beauty and their greatest moment and mix that with location and wardrobe.
NM: How did the series start and how did you end up partnering with Akris?
CSF: It started in January 2010 and in June I showed my portraits to the photography director at Vogue, Ivan Shaw, who’s my mentor and a great friend. He said my body of work was really strong and suggested we do an exhibit during Fashion’s Night Out with Akris. So, Akris and I collaborated on the remainder of the work and I was able to source different pieces from the collection. About eight of the girls are wearing Akris. I loved Albert Kriemler’s vision of color, contrast and structure and it paired beautifully with my work.
NM: What’s the process of your shoots like?
CSF: I style all of the photographs myself and I meet with the women beforehand to scout locations, edit their wardrobes and look over archival photography that they love. It’s kind of an investigation into who they are. And in the end, not only have I created a beautiful portrait, but it’s also authentic for them and the way they see themselves. For example, Sophie Pera is one of my best friends. We worked at Vogue together in Anna’s office. Although she’s American, she’s very Parisian and her dad’s from Europe. Her archival photos were all about Francoise Hardy and 1960’s Paris and that whole vibe. So she’s wearing a fur and smoking a cigarette. The picture is so strong in its simplicity.
NM: We notice a lot of your subjects are barefoot. What’s that all about?
CSF: As much as the fashion I use is about adding dimension, it’s not meant to bind the photograph in a time or space. I really want each shot to be iconic and timeless and I feel like with shoes, you always know when they were made. So, unless it’s a shoe that’s iconic and has been around, I’m not going to shoot it because it is going to date my photographs. If there are shoes, they have to be something that will translate in 20 years. I also love having something romantic and bohemian about the images and I feel like when women have their shoes off there’s an instant accessibility that translates.
NM: Which photographers inspire you?
CSF: I love all the great masters, like Richard Avedon, David Bailey, and Irving Penn. I tend to gravitate towards photographers of a different time and space and the photographers I mentioned created really soulful portraits. When I think back of the portraits that inspire me, it’s always of the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. With that being said, I’m always trying to create something fresh and new and I always seek out something of my own.
NM: What’s next for you? We heard you are doing a similar series as “Indigo Light” but with a different generation of women. Is that true?
CSF: Yes, but I put that on pause. I’m actually going to do a book with Assouline on American women and American beauty. It’ll feature women from 20- to 45-years-old and I’ll be photographing creatives and in the same spirit of “Indigo Light,” but moving into the worlds of art, fashion, music and film. The list of subjects is really interesting. It’s off-the-radar girls and on-the-radar girls. It’s young lights in America and that’s my focus. Overall, I’m really hoping to bring back the portrait. I think the portrait has died in many ways. Unless you’re in a magazine, you’re not getting your portrait taken. And, even then, it’s not in your own clothes and it’s not based in love and a moment and time that’s truly you. That’s what I’m trying to bring back.
