A rep confirmed on Instagram yesterday that beloved American fashion photographer Roxanne Rowitt died at the age of 80. “Roxanne was a woman who believed in magic,” the statement read. “Roxanne was a bright and creative light. She was a great friend who enriched people’s lives in many ways and will be loved and missed by many.”

Born and raised in New York City, Rowitt attended Fashion Institute of Technology before becoming a successful textile designer in the 1970s, working for the likes of Donna Karan, Jean Muir and Scott Barry. After Lowit began tinkering with her Instamatic 110 camera, gifted to her by Antonio Lopez, and used it to shoot her designs backstage at the show, fashion her editor Annie Flanders soho news I asked her to cover the Paris Fashion Week.

After learning how to load film in her new Nikon 35mm camera on a flight to France, she quickly fell in love with the Parisian fashion scene and was snuck backstage by her friend Jerry Hall to the top of the Eiffel Tower. became famous for The first trip of Andy Warhol and Yves Saint Laurent. After she returned to New York, she quit her job and promised that she would become a full-time photographer.

Her relationship with Saint Laurent is one of the most important in her career. Forging an intimate relationship with the whimsical designer, she is one of the few photographers who has recognized his illustrious inner circle, capturing both his muses, from Lourdes La Falaise to Nankempner, and the lavish parties he threw in Paris and Marrakech. was one of her girlfriends. In the foreword to her 2014 book, Saint Laurent’s longtime partner Pierre Berger said, “Roxanne is always there, even when it’s not expected.” Roxanne Rowitt shoots Yves Saint Laurent This matched images from over 20 years of the designer and his trajectory. “Her keen eye could catch the most secret situations, the most hidden mysteries.”

Capturing behind the scenes of fashion shows was Rowitt’s instinct, and it proved to be one of her most enduring legacies. The runways at that time were predominantly male. Rowitt was able to sneak behind the scenes and capture a different side of fashion to her circus. It was now a mandatory reporting format for industry publications during her month of fashion, providing an intimate window into the more mundane aspects of life as a model.