Didier de Fays

Didier de Faí¿s is the founder and Director of 24h.com and Photographie.com.

Born in the French city of Tours, Mr. de Faí¿s studied at the Louis Lumière College in Paris before becoming an independent fashion photographer. For ten years, he travelled around the world, working with famous models such as Naomi Campbell or Carla Bruni. His photographs spoke about the world and gave a wider meaning to the fashion icons and clothing that they depicted.

An early pioneer on the Internet, Mr. de Faí¿s launched CatWalk in 1995, the first website dedicated to fashion. At first widely acclaimed but then perceived as too revolutionary by the conservative French fashion world, CatWalk demonstrated the visionary force of a man "terrified by the digital age” but eager to embrace it. 

In 1996, Mr. de Faí¿s, along with French photographers Jean-Franí§ois Bauret and Yan Morvan, launched photographie.com, an online photography journal focused on advancing the interests of photographers.

As part of a team of renowned French photographers and photojournalists, Mr. de Faí¿s’ commitment to helping emerging photographers was further highlighted in 1998 with the launch of the Bourse du Talent photography competition. Every year, the prize rewards talented young photographers in four different categories – reportage, portrait, fashion and landscape. Their work has been exhibited at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France since 2007.

In 2010, Mr. de Faí¿s launched 24h.com, a groundbreaking online concept that commissions photographers to document specific events around the globe During each event, selected photographers are given 24 hours to express their talent and explore and photograph whatever interests them. Selected shots are disseminated live on the 24h.com website.

In addition to these projects, Didier de Faí¿s dedicates his time to bringing photographers and the public together, through major events such as the Grandes Rencontres (Photography Encounters) organized each autumn during the Paris Photo Show.