EXCLUSIVEInside Melania Trump's sexiest shoots: All the photos laid bare and what she was REALLY like behind the scenes
He's the Parisian turned New Yorker who has captured some of the world's most beautiful women... in its most exotic locations.
Since leaving France for America in the 90s, Antoine Verglas's iconic portraits of Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista and, of course, Melania Trump — to name just a few — have graced the covers of all the top glossy magazines.
Having studied at business school and worked briefly as a TV host, Verglas is self-taught behind the camera. But his intimate and provocative style quickly saw him establish himself among the Big Apple's most sought-after photographers.
'Television was great but it wasn't really my passion,' Verglas tells the Daily Mail. 'I had interviewed Sharon Stone and had a lot of success in France. Yet I was drawn to New York.'
And he was an instant hit: one of his first assignments was snapping supermodel Cindy Crawford.
Today, his Downtown Manhattan studio is resplendent with huge canvas prints of his favorite star subjects.
But of all those celebrity shoots, one seems to remain the most memorable — for its ability to still turn heads 25 years later.
For a bold James Bond-inspired cover of British GQ in 2000, Verglas, now 60, captured then 26-year-old model Melania Knauss in a series of daring, semi-nude poses, using her boyfriend Donald Trump's private jet as the backdrop.
She was 'perfect for the role', Verglas purrs — and it's easy to see why...
Renowned celebrity photographer Antoine Verglas, 60, seen in his downtown Manhattan loft-like studio, now resplendent in huge canvas prints of his star subjects including Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista and Gisele Bündchen
MELANIA TRUMP
British GQ, 2000
When Verglas was asked by GQ's editors to suggest the perfect beauty for their 007-inspired cover, he didn't think twice.
The woman who instantly flashed into his mind for the assignment checked all the 'bond-girl' boxes: killer looks, a smoldering sense of mystique and cheekbones to 'Live and Let Die' for.
It didn't hurt that the Slovenian model was also dating New York City's most flamboyant tycoon, who would later offer up his customized private Boeing 727 airliner for the shoot.
Melania Knauss — who, of course, is now two-first First Lady Melania Trump - was 'perfect for the role, just perfect… and so beautiful,' says Verglas.
She had been discovered by one of Verglas's regular business partners, Paulo Zampolli, founder of ID Models, who incidentally introduced Melania to Trump in 1998 after she moved to New York from her native Slovenia.
'I was working frequently with Paulo for different magazines,' Verglas explains. 'And I'd photographed Melania before. The director of British GQ said to me, "I'd like to do a James Bond-inspired shoot. Do you know anyone who'd be good for that?"
'I thought, I do. Melania was perfect because of her Slavic looks, a real James Bond girl action type.
'So that's how it started. Then Donald Trump offered us his plane [and] suddenly we had an amazing story and backdrop. She would be the protagonist, the Bond Girl, in the ultimate Bond setting.'
And when the pictures appeared, they caused a sensation. The now-infamous headline on the January 2000 cover read: 'Naked Supermodel Special!'
Another declared: 'Sex at 30,000ft, Melania Knauss earns her air miles.'
Inside revealed the full spread, with Melania staring directly at the camera in Trump's jet, stretched out tantalizingly on a fur and wearing only high heels, a necklace, a bracelet and handcuffs. All intimate features are artfully concealed.
In another shot she's on the steps of the plane in heels, in silver lingerie and a shaggy fur jacket hangs off her shoulders. Her expression is serious, no nonsense.
But the real Bond imagery comes into play with two startling shots of her perched on the wing of the jet. In one, she's dressed in a red thong and matching bra, sunglasses and extraordinary heel-less boots. Swinging round, she takes aim with a chrome pistol.
In the other, dressed in lace-up leather mini-shorts, arm-length gloves and an intriguing headpiece, 'pilot' Melania steps out onto the plane's wing carrying a briefcase. It's a truly arresting image.
'Melania was perfect because of her Slavic looks, a real James Bond girl action type,' Verglas told the Daily Mail.
The racy spread included stunning shots of the Slovenian model hopping out of the jet in a leather hood to match her sexy bustier and lace-up mini shorts, arm-length gloves and a briefcase
In another eye-popping shot, a stunning Melania stares directly at the camera inside Trump's jet. She's wearing a shaggy fur coat over a silver busty top, silver underwear, and high heels
When the pictures appeared, they caused a sensation. The headline on the January 2000 cover read: 'Sex at 30,000ft, Melania Knauss earns her air miles'
Though, despite the shoots billing as the 'naked' supermodel edition, 60-year-old Verglas is clear about how much Melania actually revealed for his pictures.
'There is no full nudity [...] It's very suggestive, it's implied, it's sensual,' he says. '[But] I never expose, I never do real nudity. There's a way to hide, an arm there, a hip there, a touch of clothing here.
'Melania was a beautiful model at the time and she was willing to play the part like that. And she did a fantastic job, great to work with. She can be very seductive. Even these days when I am watching how stunning she is… the aura that she has. She is a gorgeous woman, she always has been and I believe she is growing more confident with age. She's not the young girl that I used to know.'
So what was 26-year-old Melania Knauss like away from the camera?
'She's not smiling in the shoot, she didn't have to smile, I wanted serious for this,' Verglas says. 'But she can smile, she has a good sense of humor, actually.'
Remembering the day of the shot at New York's LaGuardia airport, he picks out the daring red-thong wing shot. 'I was inspired by the James Bond movies and I thought it would be cool to have her out on the wing of the plane,' he says.
'I said, "Oh, would you mind?" She was really cool with it, she had no problem, even with those boots without proper heels. She wasn't nervous at all.'
But despite that bravery, Verglas believes Melania would never have modeled for anything more revealing.
Unlike Carla Bruni, wife of France's former President Nicolas Sarkozy and another model-turned-First Lady to be photographed by Verglas, who happily went nude for shoots.
One image of Bruni, taken by a different photographer, sold at auction for $57,000 in 2018.
'Melania wouldn't do what Carla did,' Verglas says. 'She has always been pretty reserved, self-confident, but reserved. In fact, I would say a bit of a prude, actually. Yes, that's the right word, a prude. I say that in a nice way.'
Writing in her recent memoir, First Lady professed her pride in the GQ shoot. Verglas says she has every right to be, adding: 'When you are lucky enough to have her type of beauty and physical assets at least you should immortalize that with great pictures.
'I've always had a great time with Melania. We must have done at least a dozen shoots together over the years, including one later for the Sport Illustrated swimsuit edition in Mexico.'
Years after the infamous GQ shoot, Verglas shot Melania again in Mexico for a swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated
While Melania was no stranger to posing for sexy bikini shots, the photographer revealed she was relatively modest and would never have modeled fully nude
HEIDI KLUM and SARAH MURDOCH (then known as Sarah O'Hare)
Sports Illustrated 1999 Swimsuit Edition, Necker Island, British Virgin Islands
German model Heidi Klum remains another firm favorite of Verglas.
'I've worked with her for many years right at the start of her career when she was living in Miami,' he says.
'Lots of work for Victoria's Secret, a bunch of magazines, and I'm still working with her. She has a fantastic personality, she enjoys life so much.'
Her has captured Heidi Klum various times throughout the years and continues to shoot the German supermodel, who he describes as a 'fantastic personality' who 'enjoys life so much'
Among his most memorable shoots was Sports Illustrated's 1999 Swimsuit Issue in which Klum and fellow model Sarah O'Hare (later Murdoch) posed in body-painted swimwear; pictured is Klum wearing a body paint one-piece
British TV host Sarah O'Hare (now Sarah Murdoch) was among the models featured in the issue wearing nothing but body-painted swimsuits, which took five hours to apply, Verglas revealed
One spectacular shoot on Necker Island, the private retreat of tycoon Sir Richard Branson in the British Virgin Islands, was particularly demanding… for the models.
Klum and others, including Australian-raised British TV host Sarah O'Hare – now Sarah Murdoch and married to Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan – posed on the beach in 'swimsuits' made of body paint.
Klum and O'Hare had to spend at least five hours being painted for the shoot. The resulting illusion was astonishing, considering the models were actually naked.
'You really think they're wearing something, but it's just body painting on those fabulous bodies,' says Verglas.
ANGELINA JOLIE
British GQ, New York City, 2003
It was actress Angelina Jolie's raw 'animalistic sexuality' that blew Verglas away the moment he first laid eyes on her.
'I saw her in the elevator for our shoot in New York and I was thinking, wow, she's stunning,' he says. 'Very tall and imposing. A magnetic, almost hypnotic aura around her.
'It was 2003 for British GQ and my role was to take a series of shots to undress her for the magazine.
Verglas described being blown away by Angelina Jolie's 'magnetic, almost hypnotic aura around her' while shooting the actress for GQ in 2003
'The sensual and sexual draw of her was animalistic, that's the only way I can describe it.
'She was extremely at ease with nudity, being naked in front of me. Except when it came to shooting. She didn't want to reveal too much flesh in the images. She was so natural otherwise.'
PAMELA ANDERSON
New York City, 2023
Former Baywatch beauty Pamela Anderson was a relative newcomer to the Verglas portfolio
'I'd never worked with her before and always worshipped her,' he says. 'Two years ago she came here to the studio and I was so excited to meet her.
Verglas encountered the iconic Pamela Anderson relatively late in his - and her - career, but recalled being 'seduced' by the actress on the spot
Despite her public image as a wild sex symbol, the photographer noted Anderson was 'so humble' and 'approachable' in person
'And I was seduced, so natural, so friendly, actually so humble, so approachable. You can feel the kindness in her. Another person with an incredible aura around them.'
Anderson recently made the bold decision to go makeup-free for a more natural look. Although for the Verglas set she was heavily made up.
'She just wants to be herself now,' he says.
BEYONCÉ
Maxim, 2002
Verglas had another Bond-style mission in 2002, this time with global pop sensation Beyoncé who was featured on the cover of Maxim magazine, promoting comedy spy movie Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which she played love interest Foxxy Cleopatra.
Verglas had also worked with her the previous year in Nashville, Tennessee, shooting the '8 Days of Christmas' album cover for her band Destiny's Child.
Global superstar Beyoncé was featured in Maxim magazine in 2002 for a cover promoting the comedy spy movie Austin Powers in Goldmember.
The sexy shoot, which took place at Verglas's former studio in Tribeca, New York City, saw the singer decked out in gold from head to toe
Verglas recalls Beyoncé, who was also featured posing with a gold pistol, being 'really into the shoot', based on the spoof movie
But for this session, the iconic singer and now wife of music-mogul Jay-Z turned up at Verglas's former studio in Tribeca, New York City, for a day of intense photography.
'She's dressed all in gold, obviously, as the theme of the film, down to the pistol,' says Verglas. 'It was a spoof movie and Beyoncé was really into the shoot. She could not have been more delightful to work with and so kind to all the people around her. On these occasions, there's always a publicist for someone like her, then hair, make-up, a stylist.
'I always give it everything I've got, but the way Beyoncé worked and behaved so beautifully made me want to push myself even harder to make the shoot a success.'
Two years later, the pair met again. 'But it was in a New York restaurant,' Verglas reveals. 'And she came up and said hi. I was pretty impressed actually because celebrities like her run into so many people, but she remembered me and made a point of re-connecting. That's definitely not how some others behave.'
ANNA NICOLE SMITH
Calendar shoot, Miami
This iconic blonde bombshell was more troublesome.
The late actress and model Anna Nicole Smith - who died from a drug overdose age 39 in 2007 - 'was definitely unable to get up before noon or 1:00pm' for a calendar shoot depicting her as the equally tragic Marilyn Monroe, Verglas says.
The late Anna Nicole Smith posed for a calendar shoot depicting her as Marilyn Monroe
Despite appearing strung out upon arrival, the blonde bombshell transformed once she got in front of the lens
'She was living on a bus with a band during their tour, I can't remember who, and she was, let us say, flying. Partying very hard in the evenings,' he says.
'But amazingly, the moment she was in front of the camera, that all changed. It was such a dramatic transformation. One minute she was out of it, then totally focused and hard at work.
'She came alive in front of the camera and she was an amazing model. The intensity of the look in her eyes into the lens was incredible... Although there was a lot of Champagne and medication.'
MARIAH CAREY
Maxim, 2003
The singer's sexy Maxim cover shoot took Verglas on a whirlwind trip to Tokyo for 24 hours.
'She was very welcoming. She gave a concert that evening and there was a fair bit of Champagne,' the photographer recalls.
Mariah Carey's sexy Maxim shoot in Japan took Verglas on whirlwind trip to Tokyo for 24 hours
'I thought, there's no way she's going to get up for 9.00am for the shoot so we went for noon.
'As it turned out she came pretty late in the afternoon. We did the shoot and left the country. It was crazy.'
PARIS HILTON
British magazine Arena, 2000
Verglas was one of the first to discover Paris Hilton and help catapult her to celebrity.
'I took her picture for the British magazine Arena back in 2000 and I called one of my contacts and said, "you've got to check out this girl",' he says.
During their shoot 25 years ago, Verglas recalled seeing something within Paris 'that is difficult to describe' and admits he 'loved her as a subject'
'She had that something, something within her that is difficult to describe, but has such an effect on you.
'The personality, the way she responded to the camera. I love her as a subject and she is a fascinating woman.'
NAOMI CAMPBELL
Verglas's easy-going style as he chats is reflected in his approach to his models, including the more difficult ones. The resulting photographs are testament to his charm.
When pressed, he is diplomatic about any less-than-polite behavior he's experienced from his many subjects - except for British supermodel Naomi Campbell in her younger years.
The British supermodel's notorious temper and controversial behavior did prove difficult for Verglas during their shoot
But even then he gives her the benefit of the doubt.
'I must say that one time I had some difficulties [with] Naomi who was, shall we say, in a rush, because she had another job to do,' Verglas admits. 'It was tough, you know. Maybe I was the one having an off day.
'But the next time I worked with her I laid on the Champagne and everything went fine. Definitely in a better mood.
'She was adorable on that occasion. Tough one day, adorable the next. Had to woo her.'
