Mario Testino: On The Sofa

"That was… very provocative!" Family portraits, nude shoots, iconic collaborations with Grace Coddington - Mario and Natalia Vodianova have created enough for two lifetimes. The longtime friends show us their favourite moments across their careers.

When Kendall Jenner first posed for Mario Testino, her agent predicted these would be photos for her to remember. Every shoot since has left just as striking an impression, gracing the covers of Vogue, as well as Kris Jenner’s home screen. Whether shooting with her childhood friends, Justin Bieber and the Hadid sisters, or being transformed into a 70s starlet, Kendall’s friendship with Mario is transformative, memorable – and just beginning.

“It was like somebody had turned the light on” – Mario’s first impression of Gisele has shaped their colourful career, told in detail on the sofa this week. Thanks to Gisele’s ‘elephant memory’, the pair are able to flick through the covers with ease, as we learn how Gisele’s hair looks in flames, how she felt being the new girl on the scene and why she brought sweat into fashion.

Being lifelong collaborators brings its fair share of stories. Michael and Mario have progressed from covers to campaigns, going from outsiders to celebrated stars in their own right. The two close friends look back to inspire the future, as they map out their careers on the sofa this week.

Few fashion directors command the covers like Tonne Goodman. Together with Mario, she has ushered Vogue through different eras. On the sofa this week, the pair trace their favourite shoots, and their friendship, as we discover what makes Tonne tick.

What’s 20 years between friends? This podcast takes a look at the decades-old partnership between Mario and Hamish Bowles, Vogue’s Editor At Large. From London 1990, to Lima 2016, the pair have blazed the trail for some of fashion’s most iconic shoots, putting their stamp on the pages of Vogue and in fashion’s history books. In this week’s podcast, the friends deliver a new kind of candid.

In celebration of their latest cover together for Vogue Spain, Mario sits down with Penélope for an intimate sofa session. They share their favourite memories of past shoots and how they first met, in our most candid episode so far.

There’s no denying it; Gigi Hadid is the model of the moment. From her latest risqué Vogue Paris cover to her racy nude encounter with Lily Aldridge and Joan Smalls for Stuart Weitzman, demand for Gigi has soared. So it seems the perfect time for Mario to catch up with her about life, their first shoot together and that handstand with Zayn…

With some friends, you can’t quite pinpoint that distinct first meeting. So it was for Cara and Mario, who attempt to trace back the origins of their mischievous partnership. Together with Vogue’s iconic fashion director Lucinda Chambers, they discuss the moment when Mario met the 18-year old Cara and why a day with her doesn’t count as work. For your ears only.

The first instalment of Mario’s On the Sofa podcast series. Cameras off, set closed, towels down – and microphones on. It’s like overhearing the juiciest morsels of gossip at the bar – if the patrons were Mario Testino and supermodel icon Kate Moss. The two old friends flick through a catalogue of their best shoots together and discuss a special night at Harmony Korine’s house. If the corridors of fashion shoots could speak, this is what you’d hear…