In 2003 I did a shoot with Annie Leibovitz that was one of the most ambitious of my career. It was based on Alice in Wonderland and featured Natalia Vodianova wearing a series of blue dresses made especially for her, with a view to having the pictures resemble John Tenniel’s original drawings for Lewis Carroll’s book.
We cast an array of designers to play the characters: Christian Lacroix was the March Hare, Tom Ford the White Rabbit, Marc Jacobs the Caterpillar, Stephen Jones the Mad Hatter, John Galliano the Red Queen, Viktor and Rolf Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and so forth.
It was exhausting, exhilarating, and brought together so many things I loved, from the designers to the model to the location, a château just outside Paris. When it was over, the chef, Arnaud, made us a divine picnic laid out on a big linen tablecloth. We sprawled out on the lawn as the sun went down, drinking wonderful wine and eating delicious barbecue, homemade cheeses, macaroons . . . .
It was one of those magical evenings that you knew—as you experienced it—you would never forget.
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