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Beach Bodies: The Golden Era of the Rakish Pin-Up
The Rake reflects upon some of the most iconic images of beach-borne temptresses from the golden age of the jet-set.
Words Anna Prendergast
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Talitha Getty
Undisputed style icon and wife to media mogul John Paul Getty Jr, Talitha was something of a free spirit. Synonymous with the new-age hippie movement and the hedonism of Marrakech in it's halcyon days - as is evidenced by her floaty kaftan and heavy accessories - she spent most of her time drifting through the corridors of her Moroccan palace, the scent of hashish sitting heavy in the air, living up to her moniker as 'transfixer of men.'
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Paulina Porizkova
Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue of 1989 presented Porizkova in an uncompromisingly sultry new light. She was the first central European woman to feature on their cover, and with her long, lean figure draped seductively beneath the lingering palm fronds of the Bahamas, its easy to understand why.
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Raquel Welch
"This is the world's sexiest robbery!" claimed the 1968 movie poster for The Biggest Bundle of Them All, on the set of which Welch poses here, her feline eyes and dark hair compound her smouldering sex appeal.
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Ursula Andress
With Bond girl status and her 'Honey Rider' alter ego, it is no wonder that when questioned as to why she posed naked for Playboy magazine in the eighties, Ursula Andress replied simply "Because I'm beautiful"... Seen here in the iconic role (and in the iconic swimsuit), The Rake couldn't agree more.
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Charlotte Rampling
Shot here filming 'The Knack and How To Get It' in 1965, Philip Townsend captures Rampling's captivating stare and the mysterious smile that made her an unforgettable sixties sex symbol.
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Monica Bellucci
La bella Bellucci's hourglass figure and enviable locks - as well as her sheer talent and fluency in four languages - landed her a leading role in Spectre (2015). Shot here for Vanity Fair, her fifty-one years are beyond belief.
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Veruschka Von Lehndorff
Photographer Franco Rubartelli and model Veruschka Von Lehndorff worked together regularly and the two became synonymous with the iconic style of the swinging sixties. An actress and artist to boot, Veruschka smouldered her way all the way to the top. Using her titanic modelling career as an escape from the pain of her childhood, "I am Veruschka" she would say, "and I'd like to see what you can do with my face."
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Marisa Berenson
At just 18 years of age, Arnaud De Rosnay befriended the gorgeous Marisa Berenson, who introduced him to the worlds of fashion and photography, the latter being an art-form for which he quickly became known. His affinity for nature and for surfing are both evident even in this stripped-back, sultry beach shot of muse Marisa.
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Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson, also known simply as 'The Body', epitomises the notion of an utterly covetable Australian belle. With a touch of tomboy, splashes of surfer chic and the honeyed tones of long days in the balmy sunshine about her, this hugely successful philanthropic business woman and supermodel is credited with popularising the 'boyfriend watch' look, as is evidenced by her chunky yellow gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. Photograph by Giles Bensimon.
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Brigitte Bardot
Bardot was - and still is - one of the most admired sex symbols of the 1950s; almost impossibly chic, her beehive hairstyle is synonymous with the era and her sparkling wit left many a broken heart in its wake... Often seen with a cigarette perched sensually betwixt her delicate fingers or full lips, she gave meaning to the phrase 'smoking hot'.
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