“Did Demarchelier confirm?” Miranda Priestly asks Andy in The Devil Wears Prada. It’s not the only film in which the French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier is name-checked. He also appeared in the film version of Sex and the City – taking photographs during Carrie’s shoot for Vogue – and popped up (as himself) in The September Issue documentary, when he literally saves the day – by taking last minute photographs for Grace Coddington when Edward Enninful’s fell short of the mark.

The import and status of the French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier, who has died aged 78 in St Barths, cannot be denied. Whether photographing supermodels posing in white shirts, royal princesses in tiaras or advertising campaigns for luxury brands from Chanel to Louis Vuitton, Demarchelier’s work was clear, contemporary and covetous. “For people who want to look really beautiful, Demarchelier has become of the photographer of choice, perhaps the most sought-after shooter of the 1990s,” said Harper’s Bazaar of his work.

His images had an elegant, timeless quality, reminiscent of the great couture photographers of the 1950s. That’s possibly because Demarchelier worked with photography legends Hans Feurer and Henri Cartier-Bresson, moving from Le Havre, where he was born, to Paris and then New York in 1975. While he shot covers for almost all the key fashion magazines, as well as Life, Newsweek, Elle, Mademoiselle and Rolling Stone, he also signed a contract with Pirelli Calendar, took a series of high profile portraits for Time magazine – including that of Hillary Clinton, and of Madonna for her album Bedtime Stories.

“When you are a photographer, you work all the time, because your eye is the first camera,” he explained. “When you’re a fashion photographer, you must inspire a dream. Dior Couture is like art – they are the art pieces of a fashion house. Each piece is unique and made by hand.”

Though he admitted to loving beautiful women (Grace Coddington has shared that he spoke in Franglais calling models bebe on set), Demarchelier was realistic about the vicissitudes of fashion. “Fashion photography is subversive; it makes you believe everything is not true, whereas this could not be more false. It is the opposite of a mirror, a deformation.”

He was to experience this personally; his reputation was significantly tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse on set, which he consistently denied, and he was dropped by Condé Nast in 2018.

Though I associate him with iconic portraits of Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, more than any other model, Demarchelier is indelibly linked to Diana, Princess of Wales, and became her personal photographer – the first non-Briton to assume such a role. Demarchelier photographed her for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, helping to establish her credentials as a global fashion icon. “She was funny and kind – but fundamentally she was a very simple woman who liked very simple things” he told The Telegraph after her death.

His own choices were equally simple. When questioned about his favourite subject, Demarchelier revealed it was not Diana but Puffy his dog. “The dog is the perfect portrait subject. He doesn’t pose. He isn’t aware of the camera.” For an overview of his work, visit @patrickdemarchelier.