Cathleen Naundorf

Born in Weissenfels,[2] Naundorf moved from the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1985. From 1990 to 1992 she studied in Munich at the Municipal College for Design with a focus on graphics, painting and photography.

From 1990, Naundorf assisted in photography studios in Munich, Berlin, Paris, New York City and Singapore. In the early 1990s, she traveled on behalf of different book publishers as a reportage photographer. She lived and worked with ethnic groups, including the indigenous peoples the Yanomamis, Mongols and Kazakhs in the Altai Highlands and with shamans in Yakutia in Siberia. Her reportage work has been published in National Geographic, GEO and Globo.

From 1989, Naundorf focused her creative interest and art direction in fashion photography commuting between projects in New York City and Paris.

In 1997, she began to photograph backstage for Condé Nast during various Paris fashion shows. In 1998 she settled permanently in Paris. From 1998 to 2000, Naundorf collaborated with François Lesage on the "Les coulisses de la mode et de haute couture" project.

From 2000 to 2004 she became a photojournalist for Süddeutsche Zeitung's latest fashion reports. In the years 2004 to 2011 Naundorf worked on photo series under the working title "Un rêve de mode", focussing on fashion houses such as Dior, Chanel, Valentino, Gaultier, Elie Saab and Armani. The result of these projects is a 150 photo series (body of) work published in 2012 by Prestel Verlag entitled The Polaroids of Cathleen Naundorf.

A collaboration with the Reunion Musees National produced several photo shoots with a mix of French historical architecture and Parisian fashion themes. Among these shoots, five Grand Palais photo series were created, together with a series in Malmaison Castle and Moulage du Louvre. From 2010, Naundorf worked with the Musée Rodin in Paris and the Musée Rodin de Meudon in Meudon. Her work has been published in Tatler, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. In 2010, she began working with Parisian jewelers. In 2012, she worked with interior designer Didier Gomez and the Sofitel Paris Hotel.

Since 2012 Naundorf has been working with Valentino Garavani on various projects such as "An Italian Story" and "The NY City Ballet". In 2012/2013, Justine Picardie commissioned her for Harper's Bazaar, UK.

Photographs for Somerset House and the Victoria and Albert Museum[3] followed in 2014. Naundorf's photographs are in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London[4] and the Musée Rodin, Paris.

In 2016 she won the American Photography Award.

Fotografiska in Stockholm exhibited in 2018 under the title Secret times, 100 large size photographs, her camera, private diaries and set design.[5]

The 2018 publication of Women of Singular beauty – Chanel Haute Couture by Cathleen Naundorf by Rizzoli, covered over 15 years of Naundorf's collaboration with the fashion house Chanel.[6]

The evolution of Fashion I for Dior by Naundorf.

• Secret times – Cathleen Naundorf, Fotografiska, Stockholm, 2018
• Fotografie Cahtleen Naundorf, Museum Weissenfels, 2011
• Art + Fashion, Museum Kleinhues Bau, Kornwestheim, 2010

• Woman of singular beauty: Chanel Haute Couture, Rizzoli, NY, 2018, ISBN 978-0847863488
• Beauté singulière: Chanel Haute Couture, Rizzoli, NY, 2018, ISBN 978-0847862054
• The Polaroids of Cathleen Naundorf, Prestel, NY, 2012, ISBN 978-3-7913-51551