Charles Jourdan ad, 1976

French fashion and advertising photographer Guy Bourdin (1928 – 1991) would have celebrated his 80th birthday today had he not died of cancer 17 years ago.

Perhaps it was pHinn who introduced me to the imagery of Bourdin, perhaps this happened  in the pre-internet world, by way of the Dutch-language magazine Avenue, which my parents bought during the seventies. It was The Netherlands’ and Flander’s first glossy, and ran from 1965 until 2002. I seem to remember the Charles Jourdan shoe photo-ads Bourdin produced during that era.