Fashion photography is a genre of
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
which is devoted to displaying
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
and other
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
items, sometimes
haute couture. It typically consists of a fashion
photographer
A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographe ...
taking a picture of a dressed
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
in a
photographic studio
A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs.
Since the early years of the 20th ce ...
or an outside setting. It originates from the
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
and
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
industries, and while some of fashion photography has been elevated as
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
, it is still primarily used for
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
,
perfume
Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
s and
beauty products
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
.
Fashion photography is most often conducted for
advertisement
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
s or
fashion magazine
Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion journ ...
s such as ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'', ''
Vanity Fair'', or ''
Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
''. It has grown into becoming a necessary way for designers to get their work out to the public. Fashion photography has developed its own
aesthetic
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
in which the
clothes
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...
and fashions are enhanced by the presence of exotic locations or accessories.
The history of this photographic discipline was intertwined for its first decades with the fashion magazines in which the photographs originated, supplanting the
fashion illustration
Fashion Illustration is the art of communicating fashion ideas in a visual form that originates with illustration, drawing and painting and also known as Fashion sketching. It is mainly used by fashion designers to brainstorm their ideas on pap ...
s that initially dominated the magazines. It gained prominence as its photographers, such as
Irving Penn
Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Is ...
or
Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...
, gained fame. While the beginning of modern fashion photography is symbolically attributed to 1911, it wasn't until the mid-1930s that its notoriety spread, with its heyday beginning after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Nowadays, this photographic genre has spread from fashion magazines to be featured in
coffee table books
A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...
,
art galleries
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
or
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
s.
History
Origins of fashion photography
![Virginia Verasis Countess of Castiglione - Scherzo di Follia - Google Art Project](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Virginia_Verasis_Countess_of_Castiglione_-_Scherzo_di_Follia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
Fashion photography has been in existence since the earliest days of photography. The oldest surviving photograph taken on camera was made by
Nicéphore Niépce
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (; 7 March 1765 – 5 July 1833), commonly known or referred to simply as Nicéphore Niépce, was a French inventor, usually credited with the invention of photography. Niépce developed heliography, a technique he us ...
in 1826,but people would soon use photography to present costumes and garb.
Beginning in 1856,
Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione, a
Tuscan noblewoman at the court of
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
directed imperial court photographer,
Pierre-Louis Pierson
Pierre-Louis Pierson ( Hinckange ( Moselle), 13 December 1822—Paris, 22 March 1913) was a French photographer and portraitist. His studio was located at 5, boulevard des Capucines, on the border between the 2nd and 9th arrondissements in the cent ...
to help her create 700 different photographs in which she re-created the signature moments of her life for the camera. Many of the photographs depict her in official court attire while other outfits ranged from the theatrical to the absurd, making her arguably the first fashion model.
In 1881, fashion photographs started to be included with French textile sample books. Ten years later,
Mme. Caroline de Broutelles founded French fashion magazine ''
La Mode Pratique'' which became the first to feature fashion photographs in print in 1892.
American magazine ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
'' would soon follow.
The 1900s and 1910s
![Helen Lee Worthing for US Vogue, December 1919](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Helen_Lee_Worthing_for_US_Vogue%2C_December_1919.jpg)
In the first decade of the 20th century, advances in
halftone printing
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...
allowed fashion photographs to be used in magazines, which caused fashion magazines to become popular subscriptions in the United States. In 1909,
Condé Nast
Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The company's media ...
took over ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'' magazine and also contributed to the beginnings of fashion photography. In 1911, photographer
Edward Steichen
Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography.
Steichen was credited with tr ...
was "dared" by , the publisher of ''Jardin des Modes'' and ''
La Gazette du Bon Ton
The ''Gazette du Bon Ton'' was a small but influential fashion magazine published in France from 1912 to 1925.Davis48 Founded by Lucien Vogel, the short-lived publication reflected the latest developments in fashion, lifestyle and beauty during a ...
'', to promote fashion as a fine art by the use of photography.
[Niven, Penelope (1997). ''Steichen: A Biography''. New York: Clarkson Potter. , p. 352] Steichen then took photos of gowns designed by ''
couturier
''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became the ...
''
Paul Poiret
Paul Poiret (20 April 1879 – 30 April 1944, Paris, France) was a French fashion designer, a master couturier during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was the founder of his namesake haute couture house.
Early life and care ...
.
These photographs were published in the April 1911 issue of the magazine ''Art et Décoration''.
According to Jesse Alexander, This is "...now considered to be the first ever modern fashion photography shoot. That is, photographing the garments in such a way as to convey a sense of their physical quality as well as their formal appearance, as opposed to simply illustrating the object."
[Alexander, Jesse, "Edward Steichen: Lives in Photography," ''HotShoe'' magazine, no.151, December/January 2008, pp.66 – 67]
Steichen's 1911 shoot, however, was, at the time, a one-off as Steichen left the fashion scene, opening the way for
Baron Adolph de Meyer to become the prominent name in the industry.
De Meyer would be hired by the multimedia company,
Condé Nast
Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The company's media ...
, and become the first full-time photographer for ''Vogue'' in 1913. De Meyer's photograph style creating a delicate ambiance, which used a combination of romantic lighting and floral decorations while softening the focus, became imitated by so many other photographers that it soon became outmoded by 1923 when he left Condé Nast.
The 1920s and 1930s
Baron de Meyer's replacement as staff photographer would be Edward Steichen, himself, who brought in a crisp,
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
style focusing on the model rather than the settings and surroundings.
His novel approach would increase his reputational standing. Steichen's high esteem as a photographer led him not only to ''Vogue'' as the chief photographer, but ''Vanity Fair'' as well, for fourteen years.
''Vogue'' was followed by its rival, ''Harper's Bazaar'', and the two companies were leaders in the field of fashion photography throughout the 1920s and 1930s. House photographers such as Steichen,
George Hoyningen-Huene
Baron George Hoyningen-Huene (September 4, 1900 – September 12, 1968) was a fashion photographer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in the Russian Empire to Baltic German and American parents and spent his working life in France, England and t ...
,
Horst P. Horst and
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...
transformed the genre into an outstanding art form.
In the mid-1930s as
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
approached, the focus shifted to the United States, where ''Vogue'' and ''Harper's'' continued their old rivalry. The fashion model was first discovered in 1853.
In 1936, Martin Munkacsi made the first photographs of models in sporty poses at the beach. Under the artistic direction of
Alexey Brodovitch
Alexey Vyacheslavovich Brodovitch (also Brodovich; be, Аляксей Брадовіч, russian: Алексе́й Вячесла́вович Бродо́вич; 1898 – April 15, 1971) was a Russian-born American photographer, designer ...
, ''Harper's Bazaar'' quickly introduced this new style into its magazine.
House photographers such as
Irving Penn
Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Is ...
,
Martin Munkacsi Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
,
Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...
, and
Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Louise Dahl-Wolfe (November 19, 1895 – December 11, 1989) was an American photographer. She is known primarily for her work for '' Harper's Bazaar'', in association with fashion editor Diana Vreeland.
Background
Louise Emma Augusta Dahl was bo ...
would shape the look of fashion photography for the following decades. Richard Avedon revolutionized fashion photography — and redefined the role of the fashion photographer — in the post-World War II era with his imaginative images of the modern woman.
During 1928 to 1940, a French photographic journal ''
Vu'' was issued by Lucien Vogel, who had started working in fashion publications, and his wife
Cosette de Brunhoff
Cosette () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an u ...
, the first editor of
French ''Vogue'' in 1920. They made innovative fashion photography using
montage
Montage may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films
* Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing
* ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film
Music
* Montage (music), or sound collage
* ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...
techniques and experimented with new lightweight cameras. The covers they produced included celebrities as well as students; their work centered on haute couture and investigative journalism. Compared to the works of ''Vogue'' at that time, their work seemed to have more edge.
World War II
From 1939 and onward, what had previously been the flourishing and sizeable industry of fashion photography all but stopped due to the beginnings of World War II. The United States and Europe quickly diverged from one another. What had previously been a togetherness and inspired working relationship diverged with Paris occupied and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
under siege. Paris, the main fashion power house of the time quickly became isolated from the United States—especially with ''
Vogue Paris
The French edition of ''Vogue'' magazine, formerly called ''Vogue Paris'', is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1920.
History 1920–54
The French edition of ''Vogue'' was first issued on 15 June 1920, the first editor-in-chief b ...
'' shutting down for a brief hiatus in 1940.
[Hall-Duncan, Nancy. The History of Fashion Photography. New York: Alpine Book, 1979. Print.] With these changes, the photography based out of the USA gained a distinct Americana vibe—models often posed with flags, American brand cars, and generally just fulfilling the American ideal. What did remain of the French and British fashion photography on the other hand often had a wartime overlay to the content.
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...
’s ‘Fashion is Indestructible’ from 1941 displays a well-dressed woman viewing the rubble that once was
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
in London. Similarly,
Lee Miller
Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. She was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became a fashion and fine art ...
began taking photos of women in Paris and London, modeling the latest designs for gas masks and bicycling with pin curlers in their hair, as they did not have electricity with which to curl their hair. Images such as these remain scarred into the face of fashion photography of the time and display a common sentiment among the fashionable world and the public. Even fashion photographers worked to document the issues surrounding and work towards a documentation of the time—even if within the frame of fashion. These photos are an especially good indication of the fashionable emotions of the time. Many felt that fashion photography, during wartime especially, was frivolous and unnecessary. Yet, the few who worked to preserve the industry did so in new and inventive ways throughout the duration of the war.
Postwar developments
![Toni Frissell, Fashion model, Washington, D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Toni_Frissell%2C_Fashion_model%2C_Washington%2C_D.C.%2C_1949.jpg)
In postwar London,
John French pioneered a new form of fashion photography suited to reproduction in newsprint, involving natural light and low contrast.
After the Second World War, style went through dramatic changes, and various new planners arose during the 1950s and 1960s. After the wars people had become more motivated to produce more unique styles of clothing
After the deaths of
Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...
,
Guy Bourdin,
Helmut Newton,
Francesco Scavullo
Francesco Scavullo (January 16, 1921 – January 6, 2004) was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of ''Cosmopolitan'' and his celebrity portraits.
Biography
Scavullo was born January 16, 1921, on Staten Island, ...
,
Herb Ritts
Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black a ...
,
Gleb Derujinsky
Gleb Derujinsky (March 19, 1925 – June 9, 2011) was an American fashion photographer. He worked for ''Esquire'', '' Look'', ''Life'', '' Glamour'', '' Town and Country'' and ''The New York Times Magazine'', before shooting extensively for '' ...
and
Peter Lindbergh
Peter Lindbergh (born Peter Brodbeck; 23 November 1944 – 3 September 2019) was a German fashion photographer and film director.
He had studied arts in Berlin and Krefeld, and exhibited his works before graduation. In 1971, he turned to photo ...
, some of today's most famous fashion photographers are
Patrick Demarchelier
Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer.
Early life and education
Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and four ...
,
Steven Meisel,
Mario Testino
Mario Eduardo Testino Silva OBE HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer.
His work has featured internationally in magazines such as ''Vogue, V Magazine,'' ''Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ.'' He has also crea ...
and
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...
.
Some of the notable women in fashion photography include
Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Louise Dahl-Wolfe (November 19, 1895 – December 11, 1989) was an American photographer. She is known primarily for her work for '' Harper's Bazaar'', in association with fashion editor Diana Vreeland.
Background
Louise Emma Augusta Dahl was bo ...
, whose work in ''Harper's Bazaar'' introduced various compositions and aesthetics to the field. In 1983 Vanity Fair hired Annie Leibovitz as its first chief photographer to continue Steichen's legacy within modern photography through celebrity portraits.
Gallery
File:Paddington Station by Toni Frissell 1951.jpg, Paddington Station by Toni Frissell, 1951
File:Green brocade silk saree.jpg, Photograph of a green brocade silk saree
File:American fashion model Renée Gunter modeling haute couture in Paris circa 1970s.jpg, American model Renée Gunter modeling haute couture
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fashion Photography
Photography by genre