"What is it to be a woman in today's world?” Asks the photographer Sylvie Castioni.

Trained at the University of Fine Arts in Lyon, she began her career in fashion, working for ten years for the international press, notably for Vogue magazine. Since then, her portraits have been regularly published by Elle, Marie-Claire, GQ, 7000, Apollo, H-B, Numero and Glamor.

In 2010, her meeting with actress Léa Seydoux was decisive. Their series of photographs, all made with few props, triggered Sylvie's desire to specialize in intimate portraits of celebrities and nude photos that explore the representation of women, their beauty and their femininity. 

In a quest for truth and freedom, she seeks to show a deeper, more emotional, and more spiritual dimension of the female body. Her practice is bold and aims to being about a reconciliation between the feminine and the sacred. Isabelle Adjani, Catherine Deneuve, Sonia Rolland and Emmanuelle Béart all placed their trust in Castioni’s profound endeavor. 

According to Sylvie Castioni, “the young future generations must understand that women's freedom depends on their right to invent their dreams. When I photograph a woman, I don't steal anything from her. She decides what she wants to offer” she says.

Sylvie Castioni’s work explores female empowerment, identity, and embodiment through intimate yet striking portraits of women. Drawing on cultural symbolism and collective narratives, she often frames the female body as both sacred and political, a direction she deepened in her 2025 show by using the figure of Marianne as a contemporary symbol of liberty and resistance. Alongside this conceptual work, Castioni regularly photographs high-profile figures from fashion, film, and entertainment—which feeds her sharp sense of character, charisma, and performance within her portraiture.