Iain McKell

Iain McKell is a British fashion, portrait and social documentary photographer.^[1] He has specialized in photographing British subcultures since the 1980s and his work has been published in L'uomo Vogue, i-D and The Face.^[1]

Iain McKell
Born	Weymouth
Nationality	British
Occupation	Photographer
Website	iainmckell.com

Early life

McKell grew up in the West Country, England. He received his formal education at Clifton College, in Bristol.^[2] He began working as a seaside photographer in Weymouth, Dorset at the age of 19.^[1] After studying graphic design at Exeter College of Art and Design, he relocated to London in 1979, where he found work as a commercial photographer.^[3]

Career

McKell held a public exhibition in his own studio in 1984 entitled Iain McKell LIVE, where he photographed members of The Comic Strip,^[4] and many of the visitors. This was followed in 1985 by an open workshop in The Photographers' Gallery, showing his work and a documentary film about the previous year.^[5] He was subsequently commissioned by Smirnoff and Red Stripe for commercial brand advertising campaigns.^[4] McKell has specialized in photographing British subcultures since the 1980s, producing photographic studies of Skinheads, punks, Blitz Kids, and rockabillies.^[1] He also spent over ten years befriending and photographing New Age travellers. The result of this project was the publication of a book and various exhibitions. In 2012 he worked with Kate Moss on a photo project for V magazine titled 'Kate & The Gypsies'.^[6][7] In 2012 he published his third book entitled Beautiful Britain, comprising a collection of his photographic work between 1970 and 2012.^[8]

Books

• Fashion Forever: 30 years of subculture. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004 ISBN 1903781086.
• The New Gypsies. Munich: Prestel, 2011. ISBN 3791345192
• Beautiful Britain: Photographs from the 1970s to the Present. Munich: Prestel, 2012. ISBN 978-3791347011

Exhibitions

• Then & Now, Story Gallery, London, 2001.^[9]
• The New Gypsies, Fashion Space Gallery, London, 2011;^[10] Acte 2 Photo, Paris, 2011;^[11] Clic Gallery, New York, 2011.^[12]