You won’t find it on a map—at least not under the name Heimat. This is a shame because Ellen von Unwerth’s version of Bavaria, where the famed photographer spent her formative years, is seemingly populated exclusively with drop-dead gorgeous women, fond not only of wearing traditional Bavarian clothing but also taking it off. The rapturous vision of a rural idyll stuck in time, Heimat is the title of von Unwerth’s new book from German art and luxury publisher Taschen, and it’s one you won’t want to miss.
The title, as the photographer told WWD, “refers to the German term describing a person’s relationship to a physical and social place”—their homeland, as it were. “It’s like going back in time,” she says. “I lived in Bavaria from about age 10 to 16 and when I went back, it was incredible to see all these people who still dress in dirndls and lederhosen. I thought it would be fun to do a book in my [own] way.” She cast models “with a bit of a mischievous streak and a bit of actor in them,” as well as eye-popping curves. One of the women featured in the book reportedly dated Brad Pitt at one point.
The 454-page tome, which took a full year to shoot and covers the evolution of the seasons, opens with a poem of sorts, an ode to Bavaria—the von Unwerth version: “Welcome to Heimat. A place of alpine forests. Emerald lakes. And beautiful, snow-dusted peaks. A land where cowbells tinkle in meadows. Where days pass at a more natural pace. And where village girls Hilda, Traudel, Heidi and their friends enjoy a quiet life of country pursuits. Join their idyllic adventure. Explore age-old crafts and pastimes. Meet proud, upstanding members of our unspoiled mountain community. Set foot on a journey of joy.”
If von Unwerth seems to be suggesting with the ensuing images that behind Bavaria’s love of tradition lies something a trifle more licentious, we’re more than willing to take her word for it. Originally published as a limited collector’s edition priced at $1,000, this new version makes the world of Heimat—where, as Taschen notes, the local luscious maidens are “all too ready to share their love for the region, and to discard their lederhosen and dirndls”—more available, and is bound to win over legions of new fans.
Last March during the Academy Awards, several of the tantalizing images were exhibited at Taschen’s Los Angeles gallery. This was not von Unwerth’s first rodeo, of course. She worked as a fashion model herself for 10 years before going on to become one of the world’s top fashion photographers, discovering a 17-year-old Claudia Schiffer in the process. Her work has been featured in the likes of Vogue, Interview, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar, to name a few, while her advertising campaigns include Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, L’Oréal, Mugler, Uniqlo and, most iconic of all, GUESS.
Rather than go with world-famous labels, for Heimat von Unwerth commissioned former German Vogue staffer Susanne Kölmel to curate a wardrobe of new and vintage dirndls and, of course, lingerie by Bavarian designers, with a particular emphasis on Munich-based designer Lola Paltinger. The result is a “blend of old-world charm with a uniquely provocative eroticism,” as London’s The Guardian puts it, “a riot of fun and sly subversion.” And L’Officiel writes that the book is the “perfect showcase for von Unwerth’s ability to capture femininity in all its forms, celebrating women’s strength and sensuality with a conspiring, caring eye.”
They may merely be milking cows, chopping wood, cooking dinner, baking bread, fishing, hunting, sledding or pouring beer, but von Unwerth’s not-so-wholesome maidens are obviously enjoying themselves to the hilt, and even the most mundane subjects are given epic visual treatment. As she told the Luxury London site, “A photograph doesn’t need to [simply] be beautiful. Because otherwise, it’s just pretty—and you just click through or turn the page. It should be provocative. It should evoke things. It should reveal a certain beauty that one might not see initially.”
This article originally appeared in the Nov/Dec 2024 issue of Maxim magazine.