Legendary Designer Karl Lagerfeld has gone behind the lens in a photoshoot with singer Conchita Wurst for the latest issue of CR Fashion Book. The editorial entitled “The New Normal” features the Austrian drag sensation and also pregnant model Ashleigh Good. Wurst strikes a pose in lingerie and dresses by Prada, Givenchy, Rick Owens and more whilst having his trademark beard and well groomed hair.
The creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his own label is known to cross the norms and set never-seen-before bold trends, and praises the drag queen superstar saying, "I like Conchita because not only does he really have a voice but he has done something that's never been done before. "We have all heard of "bearded ladies" but no one has ever seen a bearded man posing as a lady... This brings new meaning to the term 'drag'" Talking about the photoshoot, he said: "A skinny musician next to a pregnant top model, it was a game of volumes."
CR Fashion Book Editor-in-Chief Carine Roitfeld called the shoot “sensitive” but was quick to add, “Karl’s talent in photographing with a classical style gave more strength to Conchita’s character.”
Androgynous model Casey Legler interviewed Conchita who opens up about what life as a transgender can be : ‘I created Conchita as the goal of a very long… well, actually, it's the story of my life,’ I grew up in a small Austrian village, a quite conservative one, and I was the weird little boy always dressing as a girl.’ he says adding [Being transgender] is very serious business, it's a life within itself, so you musn't confuse the two. I always get the question, why the beard? And I think the beard, for me, has so many reasons and so many meanings, but at the end of the day, I want to show that you can achieve anything, that you can have a beautiful life with an kind of look, because the way you look isn't the most important thing in life. It doesn't matter.’
Wurst, whose real name is Tom Neuwirth, made his catwalk debut last month, after closing Jean Paul Gaultier’s autumn/winter haute couture show in Paris. Seems like the 25-year-old is making waves in the world of fashion with this shoot and might even have a prospective career in Fashion.