Quick Facts
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Biography
Arnaldo Anaya-Lucca (born November 30, 1961 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican fashion photographer. After earning a BBA degree, he left the corporate world, establishing himself in the fashion industry through his work with the Ralph Lauren Corporation. He has gone on to shoot campaigns for an impressive list of clients as well as covers and editorials for a long list of magazines. In addition, he has worked with many well-known celebrities and models.
Background
Anaya-Lucca’s cardiologist father, Dr. Candido Anaya and episcopal minister mother, the Rev. Nilda Lucca-Anaya had five children: two sets of identical twins boys (of which Arnaldo is one) and one girl. His twin brother, Ariel Anaya, is younger by 5 minutes and his siblings (twin boys and a girl) are older by 5 and 2 years respectively.
Anaya-Lucca came to the United States in 1974, at the age of 13. His father wanted his sons to speak English and experience the change of seasons, so he sent them to St. John's Military School in Salina, Kansas. By the age of 18, Arnaldo had already discovered a passion for photography. However, his father insisted he continue with his studies, pursuing photography only as a hobby. Anaya-Lucca attended Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri and in 1983, he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Economics. Following graduation, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for three months as a junior Auditor at the Internal Revenue Credit Union.
In 1986, after losing his job in D.C., Anaya-Lucca took a trip to London. An unexpected layover at Newark Liberty International Airport necessitated his spending a night in New York City. On impulse, he stayed in the city without ever returning to DC—except to remove his belongings. Since then, he has lived in the East Village of NYC where he is represented by De facto Inc.
Career
In 1988, Anaya-Lucca took a job as a salesman in the Men's Clothing Department at the Ralph Lauren flagship store in New York. Working his way up the company ladder, he eventually joined the men’s design team in 1992. In 1995, the advertising department hired him as Director of Visual Concepts. He assisted the ad team and lead photographer Bruce Weber in developing campaign concepts for advertising shoots and campaigns. In 1995, after Mr. Lauren saw Arnaldo's portraits of his son Andrew Lauren, Ralph himself hired Arnaldo to shoot Tyson Beckford for the launch of their high end brand, Purple Label. That was Anaya-Lucca’s first assignment as a professional photographer and his first published photograph.
Arnaldo left the Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1997 to pursue a career in fashion photography. He began to shoot campaigns for "Polo Ralph Lauren" in 2002 and has shot dozens of campaigns for the brand (typically four per year).
Anaya-Lucca has contributed to magazines including: Australian Vogue (magazine), Australian, American, French, German and Russian editions of GQ, Esquire (magazine), Interview (magazine), Out (magazine), Black Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Spanish Harper’s Bazaar, Flaunt Magazine, Brutus (magazine), Casa, Dutch, Vibe (magazine), Dsection magazine. and Velour Magazine.
In addition to his long-term work for RL, Anaya-Lucca's extensive list of clients also includes: Calvin Klein, Emporio Armani, Brooks Brothers, Nautica, Kohls, FAO Schwarz, Victoria's Secret, Lord & Taylor, Gap, Louis Boston, Bloomingdales, Wormland, Saks Fifth Avenue, Oxford Clothes, Oscar de la Renta, Barry Bricken, Country Road, Joseph Abboud, Bergdorf Goodman, Hickey Freeman, Faconnable, Marks and Spencer, JC Penney and Hugo Boss.
Some of the models he has photographed are: Sean O'Pry, Garrett Neff, River Viiperi, David Gandy, Gabriel Aubry, Alex Lundqvist, Nacho Figueras, Oriol Elcacho and Oliver Cheshire as well as Valentina Zelyaeva, Bridget Hall, Joan Smalls, Behati Prinsloo, Filippa Hamilton, Magdalena Frackowiak, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Bekah Jenkins and Emily DiDonato.
Gallery of Models
Tyson Beckford for Ralph Lauren Purple Label (1995)
David Gandy for GQ Japan (2009)
Special Projects
In December, 2009, Arnaldo was featured in a solo art exhibition, “Adam and Eve”, in the Luis Perez Galeria in Miami, Florida. Ralph Lauren was the official designer of the uniforms and clothing worn by the U.S. Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Anaya-Lucca was hired to shoot the special "Olympic Edition of the Ralph Lauren Label" which featured Ryan Lochte, Jonathan Horton and other athletes. In August, 2012, Complex magazine named Anaya-Lucca one of "The 50 Greatest Fashion Photographers Right Now".