A new book by photographer Anne Menke showcases more than a decade’s worth of pictures shot on her journeys to the far corners of the globe—and reveals the beauty and sense of style inherent in cultures the world over.
By Harry Jacques
The world began to see fashion through a wider lens in the 1960s and early ’70s when Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland started commissioning spreads in exotic, far-flung locations. In the years since, few photographers have done more to develop the fashion-travel genre than Anne Menke, whose second book, See the World Beautiful (Glitterati Incorporated), presents a collection of images spanning more than a decade and shot between assignments for Elle, Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue, and other magazines.
Born and raised in Germany, Menke spent her formative years under the influence of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Alfred Eisentaedt before beginning her career in fashion and advertising photography in the late 1980s. She later moved to Paris and then to New York in 1996, where she would eventually release her first book, Our New York—a collaboration with fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger about the immediate aftermath of 9-11.
Even the most cursory of glances at See the World Beautiful reveals a photographer pushing the limits—both aesthetically and geographically—of her craft. Menke says she wanted “to go a little farther up the mountain, a little farther down that bumpy dirt road.”
