02gb recreate the majesty of classical artworks in a Valentino lookbook

I have to confess that the name 02gb didn’t ring any bells for me, but it turns out the photographic duo, which is made up of Max von Gumppenberg and Patrick Bienert, is a pretty big fish on the German fashion scene. Looking through their portfolio this comes as no surprise; they’ve worked for the likes of Hussein Chalayan, Kostas Murkudis, and shot numerous times for Vogue. It’s their lookbook for couture master Valentino that we were seduced by however.

In this case, seduction definitely feels like the right word. They channelled all of the mystery and majesty of the Renaissance giants into their compositions for the Spring Summer 2014 lookbook, throwing in motifs from fruit to magical lakeside landscapes painted onto giant swathes of fabric, and the result is wonderfully beguiling. Classical oval-shaped faces, architectural columns and animals prowling the jungle all feature, while Max and Patrick employ darkness and shade as effectively as I’ve ever seen it used to highlight points of brightness. Now that we’ve come across their wonderful work, we’ll be sure to keep an eye on them.