"Fashion Papers"

Clear visual language, minimal distractions, no frills: Hans Kollmers’s photographic principle is "reduced to the max," which made him one of the most renowned and distinguished German fashion photographers of the 1990s and 2000s. His career began with product and advertising photography, but his true passion was fashion. He entered this popular yet challenging genre through beauty and hairstyle photography, working on campaigns for Schwarzkopf, Redken Germany, and Pivot Point in Chicago, as well as fashion spreads for magazines like TopHair and DFZ. To expand his portfolio and refine his own signature style, he traveled multiple times within two years to [location], where he worked for Australian fashion manufacturers and magazines, developing his new visual language.

Hans Kollmers came into the spotlight in 1989 when Breuninger, now Germany's most successful fashion and lifestyle company, took notice of him and booked him for image brochures for several years. This was followed by assignments from all over Germany for image and fashion campaigns, as well as editorial shoots for renowned magazines. He photographed worldwide in cities like Paris, New York, London, and Los Angeles, as well as in North Africa, the Caribbean, and Capri.

The maxim of reducing his photos as much as possible set him apart from many other fashion photographers. Hans Kollmer was never interested in constructing opulent scenes that could distract the eye; he always focused on the essentials: the fashion and the model. For this reason, he preferred unassuming locations, such as Bauhaus-style buildings, the dunes of the Sahara, or the vast expanses of salt lakes in California and Nevada. It was his clear vision, his keen eye for the situation, the light, the location, his focused visual language, and his empathetic approach that brought him larger and more prestigious assignments, allowing him to work with the most famous models.

Today, over 100 national and international fashion manufacturers and magazines rely on Hans Kollmers's expertise. They include well-known names like Mustang Jeans, Dinomoda, Bruno Banani, Gerry Weber, Verse, Jelmoli, Louis Féraud, and Windsor, among many others. Additionally, he has photographed portraits of numerous actors, athletes, business personalities, and world stars from the international ballet scene.

The exhibition "Fashion Papers" at the Leica Gallery Konstanz showcases around 40 photos from Hans Kollmers's long and successful career.