Image of an Icon

Nicole Kidman is sitting in a grey-floored studio, simply dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a grey cashmere sweater, not that different from the outfit the down-to-earth actress was wearing when she arrived at the studio. Even the watch is the same, an Omega Ladymatic red gold watch featuring a white mother-of-pearl dial encircled by a dazzling snow-set diamond bezel whose sparkle is rivalled only by the twinkle of Kidman’s ice-blue eyes.

Although the studio’s wardrobe is chock-full of sleek designer gowns, it’s the more casual clothing that ends up being chosen as a perfect match for the luxurious Omega Ladymatic, on what would become Omega’s next Ladymatic campaign images. The light setting is as elegantly simple as Kidman’s attire.

And sitting on an apple box talking with Kidman is photographer Patrick Demarchelier, surrounded by a frenzy of assistants, each with their role to play in making sure that these split-second images frozen in time become magical: photo assistants, stylist, make-up artist, and hairstylists – even a film crew ready to capture the moments for an Omega TV commercial. On the set, the warmth and mutual respect between the photographer and his ‘model’ is evident.

Stanley Kubrick, Werner Herzog, Lars von Trier, Baz Luhrmann, Gus van Sant, Jane Campion, you name it. Nicole Kidman has worked with some of the greatest names in cinema and has created award-winning movie masterpieces of a calibre that most actors can only dream of.

But if the roll call of star directors whom she has worked with is impressive, it’s nothing compared to the long list of legendary photographers who have had the honour of immortalising Kidman in photography. Irving Penn, Herb Ritts, Peter Lindbergh, Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin… and the list goes on.