Richard Avedon helped to define the post WWII woman with his imagery of impossibly elegant women, theatrically posed within Avedon’s signature theatric narrative style. Dovima with Elephants is one of Avedon’s most well-known photographs featuring the model Dovima dressed in couture at the Cirque d’Hiver of 1955 in Paris. Although not a
To showcase swimsuit styles of the season, German-born photographer Horst P. Horst enlisted model Lisa Fonssagrives to crouch, conform and contort her body into letters that spelled out the word “Vogue.” Perhaps taking a cue from the aerial-style imagery of synchronized swimmers choreographed into configuration, Fonssagrives appears in multiples as though
Under the moniker of Horst P. Horst, German born Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann would photograph the beau monde and Parisian café society of the interwar years. The year Horst would meet Gabrielle Chanel, he took the most memorable and well-known photograph of the fashion designer’s life; an image that came to typify
In 1939, Erwin Blumenfeld photographed a reportedly unharnessed Lisa Fonssagrives whose Lucien Lelong dress billowed in the winds atop the Eiffel Tower. The location for the French Vogue photo shoot was strategic, chosen in celebration of the monument’s fiftieth anniversary. Soon after Blumenfeld’s photograph, the city would see the havoc and ravages of war
Although his work often made up the pages of Vogue, William Klein rejected the label of fashion photographer, perceiving the association limiting and misrepresentative. Klein was also a painter, filmmaker and photographer with a somewhat cynical view of fashion; in 1966, Klein’s would famously satirize the cult of fashion in his film Qui êtes-vous,
As Artistic Director of Advertising at Christian Dior, Gruau’s illustrations helped to define the beauty ideals of the period, creating imagery of the Dior woman from the inception of the label well into the 70s and 80s. In 1971, Gruau’s campaign for Miss Dior Cherie featured a first-ever male lead,
Vivacious fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar, editor-in-chief of Vogue and Curator at the Costume Institute, Diana Vreeland is often referred to as the Empress of Fashion. Under the direction of Diana Vreeland at Vogue, German photographer Horst P. Horst began photographing high society within their living spaces throughout the 60s–including Mrs. Vreeland herself. To celebrate the
Vogue’s June 1st, 1940 issue, dedicated to swimwear styles of the season, featured model Lisa Fonssagrives dressed for the beach and positioning her body to form the letter “V” for Vogue. Photographed by German photographer Horst P. Horst, the image incorporates elements of surrealism and dadaism, both movements which had a significant impact
While on assignment in Lima, Peru, Irving Penn would photograph model Jean Patchett on her first Vogue assignment for the editorial, “Flying Down to Lima.” Penn’s well-known image of the then 22-year-old model was reportedly taken candidly, as Patchett awaited the next scene, unknowing of the camera upon her. In 2009, Steven Meisel would
In 1964, 60s designer Rudi Gernreich, debuted his “monokini,” or topless bathing suit, which consisted of a black wool knit suit with suspenders that exposed the breasts. Gernreich’s revealing suit caused a sensation, immortalized by William Claxton’s photograph of Peggy Moffitt modeling the risky look, and Gernreich reportedly sold 3,000 monokinis by the