Although you might not know her by name, we’d chance that even the uninitiated would be familiar with Petra Collins work.
A Canadian photographer, director and all-around creative force, Collins emerged in the early 2010s with a visual language that blossomed into an entire signature aesthetic of its own.
In the decades since, she’s gone from photographing friends and family at home, to counting Olivia Rodrigo (she directed her most recent music video, ‘Drop Dead’), Rosalìa, Emma Chamberlain, Selena Gomez, Cardi B, and Frank Ocean as her muses.
So, who is the creative mind on everybody’s lips? Get to know Collins, below.
She’s Hungarian, but grew up in Canada
Despite being raised in Toronto, Collins told Punkt that Hungary feels like home, because Hungarian was her first language. According to the same interview, her uncle and grandmother, who “feel like parents” still live there.
She originally wanted to be a dancer
Its hard to imagine a world without Collins as we know her, but that was very nearly the case. In a profile with i-D, she revealed that she had been training in pursuit of a professional ballet career, before a connective tissue disease halted her plans. “I remember that being so devastating, because I felt really betrayed by my body. So I was like, “Okay, well, I always really wanted to make movies.” So I just picked up a camera and went for it,” she shared.
She became interested in photography in high school
Who didn’t dabble in a little bit of home photography as a teenager? Only in Collins’ case, that dabbling revealed real talent. Enlisting her sister, Anna, as well as school friends as her muses, Collins began cultivating what would become her signature: an intimate, candid perspective on femininity and young womanhood.
She moved to New York at 20
After what she describes as a difficult high school experience, Collins left her home in Toronto, Canada for New York. It was there that she landed a job as a photographer at Rookie, Tavi Gevinson’s online zine, and her fan base really began to explode.
Her growing fame was not without controversy
Around the same time as her career was taking off, Collins had her Instagram account taken down after she published a photo of herself in a bikini. Following the removal, Collins penned an essay for Oyster magazine (which has been republished by Huffington Post) poignantly taking aim at society’s standards of femininity.
In 2013, Collins collaborated with American Apparel in a T-shirt depicting a menstruating vagina. For some, it deepened an already loyal following; for others, it confirmed the provocation they believed her work represented.
These moments helped shape the wider context in which her practice would be read. Collins’ lens — often centred on adolescent girlhood, intimacy and bodily autonomy — sat directly against the cultural discomfort that still surrounds the portrayal of young female sexuality. In that sense, the reaction to her work became inseparable from the work itself: a reminder that visibility, when it centres the female gaze, is still often met with resistance.
Euphoria is rumoured to be based on her work
If you spend long enough on Reddit, you’ll likely come across the allegations that Collins was the original mastermind behind the HBO series.
Certain corners of the internet allege that Collins was originally brought on board by Sam Levinson to direct the project, but was dropped by HBO for being too young. Although they didn’t proceed with Collins at the helm, the allegations persist that it was her ideas that made it onto screen…
She’s worked with countless luxury brands
If her fanbase wasn’t enough to convince you of Collins’ influence, maybe her client list will? Collins has collaborations with Gucci, Adidas, Simone Rocha, Blumarine, and Calvin Klein on her (ever-growing) CV.
She’s working on her debut feature film
Or so it seems. Details are under wraps, but Collins spilled a little bit to i-D. “I feel held back by photography at the moment, and I’m so ready to move into film—I mean, I’ve been ready to move into film for a really long time. It’s just complicated and it takes a while,” she shared.
Her newest book is en route
We told you Collins was busy. Her book, Star, is gearing up for release, with Collins describing it as a “horror story” about fame.
She’s walked several major runways
If photography wasn’t enough, Collins has also spent time in front of the camera, walking for runways and fronting campaigns for the likes of Chloé, Courreges, Proenza Schouler, and Miu Miu.
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