Between the two wars, fashion and photography started setting their own trends, inspiring and getting inspired by the contemporary events and movements, such as surrealism, futurism, cubism. Images via Wikipedia Times of the (R)EvolutionĪs the years progressed and the number of fashion photographers increased, things began to change. Steichen’s brilliance in the field of portraiture photography came in handy just the perfect amount, as the photographer also managed to focus on the cloths through lighting and carefully planned studio set-ups.
These were subsequently published in the April 1911 issue of Art et Décoration and they still stand as the fine examples of the aesthetics, movement and details of the clothes. At the height of Europe’s golden age of elegance, it was him who created “the first serious fashion photographs ever made”, of models wearing dresses by French designer Paul Poiret. It turns out that chance for Steichen to turn to fashion image-making as passionately too, after he undertook the task of promoting it as fine art as a result of a dare by a close friend. Photography, on the other hand, was transitioning from documentary to art through Pictorialism, with Edward Steichen being one of its main proponents. Both of them were initially illustrated by hand, often inspired by the artistic movements of the moment, such as Art Nouveau. The revolution started with the foundation of two key publications in the late 1800s, Harper’s Bazaar and of course Vogue.
It wasn’t before fashion itself became available to a wider audience that the photography dedicated to it became popular. Defined by the cultural zeitgeist and trends in vogue at the moment, fashion photography has had a remarkable history which stretched throughout the 20th century and through to today, becoming the field of glamour, rebellion, artistry, experimentation and commercialism, all in one dazzling picture - or the entire editorial of them.īaron Adolph de Meyer - Unpublished Fashion Study for Vogue, 1919 Fashion Photography - (Finally) On The Cover of the Magazine The images that once served as a marketing tool inside a magazine are now being exhibited within esteemed galleries, museums and institutions worldwide as proper works of art, and are even sold well at auctions. And like it often happens with a great advertising tool, some of the most recognizable campaigns in history have become as iconic as the brands they were first designed to sell. Like many other art forms, fashion photography reflects the world around us. Left: Richard Avedon - Carmen Dell'Orefice, 1957 / Right: Louise Dahl Wolfe - Mojave desert, California for Harper's Bazaar, 1948 Fashion Photography - Glamour’s Journey Through the Lens But very soon, fashion photographers found themselves torn between emphasizing the product and making art it is that very balance and the hard work to establish itself as a legitimate form of expression over the past century that makes fashion photography so compelling, and so very lucrative too. Since the first 19th century portraits of countesses and royalty in their expensive gowns, it was clear this branch of picture-making aimed to depict the glamorous lifestyles and the rich materials, alluding to the cream of society they belonged to.
While fine art photography reflects the photographer’s artistic side, fashion photography tries to envision the idea of the fashion designer, translating it into an image of a product for people to buy. It is a match made in heaven - the fashion industry, with its couture as high as its demands, and photography, realistic (or not) on request, the two evolved hand in hand through time and they would hardly become the way they are now without each other. When we think about fashion photography, today it is considered one of the most creative and the most desirable fields of the medium.