Mario the Maestro – His Symphony of a Lifetime

For its August 2024 cover story, Numéro Switzerland featured Mario Testino in a reflective profile that traces a pivotal chapter in his career and the evolution of A Beautiful World. Framed through the metaphor of the “maestro,” the article positions Testino as an artist entering a new movement, one shaped less by fashion cycles than by cultural continuity, memory, and belonging.

The feature centres on Testino’s long-term photographic project A Beautiful World, highlighting his travels across more than 30 countries and his focus on traditions, dress, and ritual as expressions of identity rather than spectacle. Drawing on Testino’s own words, the article explores his decision to step away from the fashion industry and dedicate himself fully to photographing communities often overlooked, describing the work as both a personal and artistic turning point.

Numéro Switzerland contextualises the project through Testino’s exhibition at Palazzo Bonaparte in Rome, curated by Patrick Kinmonth, presenting it as a moment of return and renewal. The article reflects on how Testino’s lens has shifted from selling dreams to observing lived reality, and how his photographs now operate as quiet acts of recognition rather than performance.

The cover image, Three Women of the Thari, Tharparkar, Pakistan, 2024, underscores the publication’s emphasis on dignity, presence, and cultural pride. Throughout the feature, Numéro Switzerland frames A Beautiful World as a body of work that redefines beauty through difference and positions Testino’s later career as one marked by clarity, restraint, and purpose.