Harley Weir

You could credit Harley Weir with popularising an entirely new style of fashion photography. Her wholly analogue approach offers fresh vantage points on the grittiness of eroticism, sexuality and femininity.

Weir’s ability to communicate the languid and sensual in her work – be it through a still-life or an ad campaign – has brought her recognition from the highest tiers of the industry. But even with work for Jacquemus, Christopher Kane and Missoni under her belt, Weir has successfully managed to avoid compromising her distinct aesthetic.

Still in her twenties, she recently became the second woman currently signed to Art Partner – the agency that represents industry legends Mario Testino, Steven Klein and Mert and Marcus, to name a few. In a world where men still dominate fashion photography, Weir’s work stands apart as an unapologetic tribute to the physicality of female body – but don’t get caught thinking that’s all she’s about. In between all of the relentless fashion success, Weir puts her talents to use elsewhere, travelling to conflict zones to capture landscapes and portraits of life in all its different permutations. For Dazed’s autumn 2015 cover story, she shot Young Thug in his Atlanta home, lounging in the bathtub and spread across a car bonnet. 

She told Dazed that what she does, in one word, is ‘beautiful’, and her work certainly is. It’s the rawness of Weir’s images that make them stand out, securing her place among the fashion industry’s photographic visionaries.

Text Tom Rasmussen