Behind The Lens: Jackie Nickerson
Fashion and fine art photographer, Jackie Nickerson divides her time between Co Louth and London. She has worked for luxury brands and magazines including Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Dior, Vogue and Vanity Fair.
“I might describe my photography style as brutally honest. I’ve always been a feminist and have tried to choose models and clothes that promote this vision. I learned everything on the job. When I was 18, I moved to New York and began assisting commercial photographers. I had applied to London College of Printing, but they turned me down. In hindsight I was probably lucky they did. I think of clothing as a kind of architecture; part of my job is to find the right environment for it. When I was a kid I’d spend my pocket money in jumble sales and tape clothes to my bedroom wall. I loved ballgowns and big petticoats.
CLAD, just published by Steidl, is my first book dedicated to my fashion photography. It spans nearly 40 years of my work starting in the early 1980s when I was living in Milan, up to a Róisín Pierce shoot I did in 2025. A memorable job was a photoshoot before a Dior show in London and afterwards, as the afterparty got started, Grace Jones suddenly walked out on stage and did a private concert.
Photographing Cate Blanchett at her home in the English countryside was another memorable shoot, she was so creative and willing to try anything. I am currently completing a three-book box set called Assembly, which spans 20 years of my fine art photography. If I was to give advice to aspiring photographers, I’d say decide what you want to say and be true to your own vision.”
