Lance Avery Morgan
In a new photography book, decades in the making, legendary lensman Fadil Berisha captures supermodel Carmen Dell’Orefice in all her silver-haired splendor… proving that beauty, much like friendship, only deepens with time
All photography by Fadil Berisha
There are creative partnerships, and then there are the rare few that redefine what collaboration can mean. Photographer Fadil Berisha and Carmen Dell’Orefice, the world’s longest-working supermodel, have shared a many-decades-long visual dialogue that has evolved into more than just a muse and maker: it’s become a meditation on grace itself. Their new photography book, eponymously titled, Carmen Dell’Orefice, The Ultimate Role Model from Skira Arte Publishing, isn’t merely a glossy collection of portraits; it’s a love letter to endurance, elegance, and evolution.
With each frame, Berisha captures Carmen not as a relic of fashion’s golden age, but as a living embodiment of timeless beauty: sharp-witted, self-possessed, and entirely unbothered by the tick of the clock. “I never wanted to replicate what had already been done,” Berisha says of photographing the model who’s been in front of lenses by Avedon, Penn, and nearly everyone in between. “I wanted to find the quiet truths in between the moments.” And he does. His photographs of Dell’Orefice aren’t just visually breathtaking; they hum with intimacy, built on trust, laughter, and a mutual respect that only deepens through the years, as our pop culture chronicler Lance Avery Morgan learned when he caught up to Fadil Berisha in New York.
A Collaboration Beyond Time
When photographer Fadil Berisha first trained his lens on Carmen Dell’Orefice, the world’s longest-working supermodel, something ineffable occurred; something that transcended beauty, fashion, or even art. It was, as Berisha describes, “the beginning of a conversation that would never end.”
Now, decades later, that ongoing conversation has culminated in a new photography book; a luminous visual dialogue between two icons who understand that grace isn’t a pose; it’s a way of being.
The Muse Who Moves Time Itself
Carmen Dell’Orefice is no stranger to the camera. Having been photographed by every great photographer, from Avedon to Penn, she has been immortalized by the world’s greatest image-makers, each capturing her legendary silver mane, sculptural poise, and unmistakable aura of sophistication. But for Berisha, Carmen is far more than a subject.
“Carmen is not just a subject; she’s a story,” Berisha reflects. “A living archive of beauty and intellect. Each session revealed another layer of who she is. The book was never a project; it was a natural evolution. A way to honor not only our work, but the bond we’ve built through decades of collaboration, respect, and shared vision.”
That word, bond, feels essential here. Because what emerges from Berisha’s photographs isn’t just admiration; it’s mutual reverence. His images seem to breathe, as though camera and subject are engaged in some elegant dance between light and truth.
The Quiet Truth Between the Moments
When asked how he approached photographing a woman already so famously photographed, Berisha’s answer is disarmingly simple. “I never wanted to replicate what had already been done,” he says. “I wanted to find the quiet truths in between the moments.”
Those “in between” spaces: the glances, gestures, and breaths that live beyond the fashion pose, are where Berisha’s artistry thrives. His portraits of Carmen aren’t about the gowns, the lighting, or the allure of legacy. They’re about a kind of stillness that reveals the soul of the sitter.
“Our images aren’t about fashion or fame,” he adds. “They’re about the emotional terrain we’ve explored together.”
Every Shot Is The Shot
In a world obsessed with the perfect take, Berisha insists that with Carmen, perfection is constant. “Every frame is a collaboration,” he says. “She is both artist and muse: the kind of subject who elevates the work simply by being present. It is every photographer’s dream to create with someone like her.”
That presence, poised, perceptive, profoundly human, anchors the book. Every photograph, whether set against silk drapery or bare walls, is imbued with Carmen’s remarkable ability to inhabit her age and artistry with equal conviction.
The Beauty of Agelessness
Carmen Dell’Orefice, now in her nineties, continues to redefine what beauty looks like across decades. Her hair may have gone silver long ago, but her spirit remains incandescent. Berisha credits her mind as the true source of her agelessness.
“It’s her mind,” he says. “Carmen’s agelessness has everything to do with how she sees and feels, how she evolves while remaining deeply grounded in herself. There is no vanity in her beauty, only grace. She doesn’t chase youth; she redefines it.”
That idea, redefining youth, is a thread that runs through their collaboration. Berisha’s portraits of her don’t try to rewind time; they celebrate its passing, finding elegance not in denial but in depth.
The Art of Imperfection
Every creative partnership encounters unexpected moments, and in Berisha’s studio, even mishaps turn into masterpieces. He recalls one unforgettable shoot when Carmen slipped and injured herself.
“Most people would have stopped everything,” he recalls. “Carmen turned it into a scene. She chose the most striking dress in the collection and asked to be photographed while in pain, dressing herself, capturing that raw moment of vulnerability and strength. Minutes later, she was in an ambulance. But the images we captured? Pure art.”
That moment, both fragile and fierce, encapsulates their shared artistry, an embrace of imperfection as part of the creative truth.
Full Circle
When asked which decade he would most love to photograph Carmen in, Berisha doesn’t hesitate. “Now,” he says. “Without question. She is as beautiful and graceful as ever. There’s an ease now, a depth that only time can bring. While it’s tempting to imagine her in the golden eras of the past, the truth is, Carmen doesn’t belong to any one time. Every era she touches becomes hers.”
That sense of timelessness, Carmen as an eternal muse, radiates from every image in the book. The photographs are not nostalgic; they are alive, pulsing with the quiet electricity of two artists who have grown together.
Lessons in Grace
After decades of shared creation, Berisha has learned as much about life as he has about light. “Carmen has shown me that elegance is not about appearance, but about presence,” he reflects. “It’s in how you carry yourself, how you treat others, how you face life. Aging isn’t a decline—it’s an evolution. And endurance? It’s not just about lasting; it’s about growing with intention.”
Through Carmen, Berisha discovered that true beauty has less to do with symmetry and more to do with soul.
One Photo, Infinite Stories
If he had to choose a single image that defines their partnership, Berisha points to a session featuring a gown by Chinese designer Guo Pei, a garment so intricate it took two years to create.
“The dress didn’t fit quite right,” he recalls. “But Carmen adapted. She held the garment at the waist with her elbow, transforming a flaw into a feature, and made the pose even more powerful. That moment captured everything I admire about her: grace under pressure, instinctive artistry, and an ability to elevate every situation with quiet genius.”
It’s that alchemy, of flaw into form, of experience into art, that defines both Carmen Dell’Orefice and Fadil Berisha’s enduring creative relationship.
The Legacy of Light
This book isn’t merely a collection of portraits; it’s a meditation on what it means to be timeless.
Through Berisha’s discerning eye and Carmen’s transcendent spirit, we are reminded that beauty is not frozen in youth or captured in perfection, but continually reborn in authenticity. Together, they have built more than a body of work; they’ve built a testament to enduring elegance, human connection, and the kind of art that never ages.
Because, as Berisha so perfectly puts it: “With Carmen, even time pauses to listen.”
In the end, what Berisha and Dell’Orefice have created isn’t just a book; it’s a master class in artistry, trust, and the beauty of showing up for life, camera-ready or not. Their friendship, as much as their photography, stands as proof that the truly luminous things in this world don’t fade; they evolve.
With every image, Carmen reminds us that grace is not a matter of youth, but of attitude, and that elegance, when rooted in authenticity, can outshine even the brightest lights of any studio. And through Berisha’s discerning eye, we see her not as a woman defined by time, but as one who bends it ever so slightly to her will.
Together, they’ve captured something we all crave: the eternal shimmer that comes from being completely, unapologetically oneself.
Because as any true Texan knows, whether you’re behind the lens or in front of it, real beauty never goes out of style.
