Born in Reims, France, Hugo Mapelli has developed a passion for photography at a young age, confessing to a “bad habit” of taking apart his father’s cameras to understand how they worked. Initially pursuing a career in marketing with photography as a hobby, it was when he met his wife that he started to believe in his capabilities as a photographer. He quit his job, sold his apartment and car and started interning at Studio Astre in Paris. He assisted Anne Leibovitz, Ellen Von Unwerth, Max Vadukul amongst others and was Peter Lindbergh's assistant for 8 years. Hugo also worked on video projects with Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent and then at Celine. His colourful, authentic and exploratory style is grounded in curiosity and boundless appreciation for the craft and for processes hidden behind the image.
With a desire to create his own photographic language through colour and experimentation, he set up his own darkroom in 2019. Thus he masters the silver process from development to printing in a timeframe that meets the constraints of his clients such as Harrods, Chanel, Chloé, Dom Pérignon, Hermès, EERA, Vogue, Neous and Marsèll.
