Miles Aldridge

Early Life

Born in London in 1964 to eminent graphic designer Alan Aldridge, Miles Aldridge received his father’s Nikon F as a gift when he was 10. He later studied illustration and graphic design at Central Saint Martin’s College. After graduating, he briefly worked as an illustrator and music video director. Eventually, in the early 1990s, he transitioned into photography.

Photographic Career

Aldridge moved to New York where his first commercial work was for American monthly fashion magazine W. His photographs quickly became a regular feature in international publications, including American Vogue, The New Yorker and The New York Times. Aldridge formed a particularly strong artistic partnership with Franca Sozzani, the editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue throughout the 1990s, and produced many of his most memorable and striking images for the magazine. He has worked with numerous fashion designers throughout his career including Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld.

Aldridge’s work stands out for its vibrant colour, elaborately styled set design, and strong cinematic narrative. He often blends the surreal with a mix of the mundane, glamour, and eroticism. Reflecting on his influences, he has explained that Alfred Hitchcock’s ability to make ordinary objects—such as a bedside table, a hairbrush, or a bunch of flowers—appear strange and sinister has shaped his own approach. Consequently, whether he transforms beautiful things into something unsettling or makes everyday items look unusual, his goal remains the same: to create photographs that compel the viewer to pause, even in an age when images are so easily discarded.

Exhibitions & Awards

Miles Aldridge has published several books over the years, including ‘Pictures for Photographs’ (2009), ‘Other Pictures’ (2012), ‘I Only Want You to Love Me’ (2013), ‘Córdoba’ (2022) and most recently, ‘Please, Please Return Polaroid’ (2023). In addition to these publications, Aldridge has exhibited widely and internationally. A major retrospective of his photography opened at Fotografiska in Stockholm (2020-2021), which travelled to Fotografiska New York in May 2021 and Fotografiska Berlin in 2024. Earlier, in 2013, Somerset House in London hosted a comprehensive retrospective of his drawings and photographs. The following year, Tate Britain invited Aldridge to create a temporary installation titled ‘Carousel II’, as a response to Mark Gertler’s 1916 painting ‘Merry-go-Round’. Today, his work is included in several prominent public collections, such as the National Portrait Gallery (London), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), and the International Center of Photography (New York).