On the occasion of his 100th birthday, we take a take a close read of his compellingly insightful memoir, Autobiography, to uncover more about his life in Singapore.
He was larger-than life: he lived in Monte Carlo and Los Angeles towards the end of his life, and passed away in 2004 in a car accident in Los Angeles. In the years after, the colourful photographer made a name for himself in the fashion industry, shooting editorials for magazines the likes of British and French Vogue, as well as campaigns for brands such as Prada and Gucci. His intended destination was Shanghai, China, but by a stroke of luck, ended up staying in Singapore from the end of 1938 to 1940, when he was interned by the British at the start of World War II and was sent off to Australia. Fashion photographer Helmut Newton is known for his provocative photographs that rose to prominence in the ’70s, and would come to define the visual language of fashion photography and advertisements-even till today.īorn on 31 October 1920 in Berlin, Newton was of Jewish descent and left Germany in December 1938 in the aftermath of Kristallnacht.