BOOK CLUB: HELMUT NEWTON

It's hard to believe Helmut Newton hasn't already been inducted into our book club, but we're glad to debut the latest compilation of his photographs, World Without Men by Taschen. His signature look has been the inspiration behind many NYLON spreads over the years--and we share the same love of magazines, which is what draws us to his work over the other top fashion photographers of his time.

"I've always found stimulus and inspiration in working for magazines or commissions. I seem to need this kind of disciple and a definite framework in which to work." There's another shared prerogative: girl power, which is the running theme in the aptly titled World Without Men. Alongside his famous photographs are diary-like narratives that bring each image to life. He writes of a Vogue UK shoot on the Berlin-Moscow express gone array when his crew was nearly lynched for shooting in the waiting room of Warsaw Station. Or how he was always "agonizing over the choice of model," which Newton said was "the most important ingredient in my pictures." He wrote decisively about his inspiration: "My immediate surroundings are always more mysterious and exciting to me than some faraway place."

To say that reading this book allows you to understand the inner workings of Helmut Newton's mind would be an understatement. And if you're not up for a deep read, there's plenty of beautiful images to occupy you for hours and forever be imprinted in your memory. And since his words are so impactful one last bit of wisdom from Newton: "Just as a magazine is ephemeral, so a book is like a house: it's there for a long time. Each is a different discipline." Buy it now at Taschen.com.

Photos courtesy Helmut Newton Estate

London, 1967

Dakar, 1971

Paris, 1965

Paris, 1969

Saint Tropez, 1978