fashion photographer
Fashion photography is a genre of photography which is devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items, sometimes haute couture. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking a picture of a dressed model in a photographic studio ...
and
photojournalist
Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...
active in the 1950s and 1960s. She documented the latest designs of prominent fashion houses.
Biography
Relang (born Regina Lang) was born in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
in 1906, daughter of painter Paul Lang and textile designer Minna Lang-Kurz. Her younger sister was the jewelry designer Anni Schaad. Relang studied painting at the Kunstakademie Stuttgart and the
Academy of Arts, Berlin
The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany.
The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...
. Her introduction to the world of fashion came after she befriended fashion photographer
Willy Maywald
Wilhelm "Willy" Maywald (15 August 1907 – 21 May 1985) was a German photographer who was best known for his portrait and fashion photography.
Early life and education
Maywald was born on August 15, 1907 in Kleve, German Empire (present day Ge ...
and moved to Paris.
Relang began working for ''
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'', ...
'' in 1938, publishing photographs in the French, American, and British editions. Her work was also regularly used in '' Die Dame,'' '' Madame (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 ...
,'' ''Film und Frau'', and ''Constanze.'' Over the course of her career, she photographed the women's fashion of
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
,
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...
, and Yves Saint-Laurent and reported on haute couture shows from Paris and Rome. Her photographs are known for their elegance, glamour, and use of lifelike settings that contrast with the designs being showcased. Models photographed by Relang include
Jean Patchett
Jean Ward Patchett Auer (February 16, 1926 – January 22, 2002) was a leading American fashion model of the late 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. She was among the best known models of that era, which included Dovima, Dorian Leigh, Suzy Parker, Ev ...
Isa Stoppi
Isa or ISA may refer to:
Places
* Isa, Amur Oblast, Russia
* Isa, Kagoshima, Japan
* Isa, Nigeria
* Isa District, Kagoshima, former district in Japan
* Isa Town, middle class town located in Bahrain
* Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia
* Mount I ...
,
Elsa Martinelli
Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model.
Life and career
Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto, Tuscany, she moved to Rome with her family. In 1953, she was discovered by Roberto Capuc ...
Suzy Parker
Suzy Parker (born Cecilia Ann Renee Parker; October 28, 1932 – May 3, 2003) was an American model and actress active from 1947 until 1970. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s, when she appeared on the covers of dozens of ma ...
.
Relang was awarded the
Federal Cross of Merit
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
in 1972 and the
David Octavius Hill Medal
The David Octavius Hill Medal is a prize in photography established in 1955, by the Deutsche Fotografische Akademie. It is named in honor of the Scottish artist David Octavius Hill, famous for his Hill & Adamson calotypes, most of which were devel ...
in 1973. She died in Munich in 1989.
Collections
*
Munich Stadtmuseum
The Munich Stadtmuseum (German: "Münchner Stadtmuseum") or Munich City Museum, is the city museum of Munich. It was founded in 1888 by Ernst von Destouches. It is located in the former municipal arsenal and stables, both buildings of the late ...
Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
*''Lo Sguardo Italiano: Fashion photographs from 1951 to today,'' Fondazione Pitti Discovery, 2005
*''Vanity,''
National Museum, Kraków
The National Museum in Kraków ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie), popularly abbreviated as MNK, is the largest museum in Poland, and the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections arou ...
, 2013
*''Rich Pickings: Displaying Wealth,''
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (''Museum of Art and Design Hamburg'') is a museum of fine, applied and decorative arts in Hamburg, Germany. It is located centrally, near the Hauptbahnhof.
History
The museum was founded in 1874, foll ...
, 2014
*''Who's Afraid of Women Photographers,''
Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...
, 2015
*''Silk gowns and leather jackets: The fashion studio of Erika Segel-Reinhardt,''
Historical Museum, Frankfurt
The Historical Museum (German: Historisches Museum) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, was founded in 1878, and includes cultural and historical objects relating to the history of Frankfurt and Germany. It moved into the Saalhof in 1955, and a new ex ...
, 2015
*''Regina Relang: Staging Elegance: Fashion and photojournalism from 1930 to 1980,'' Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen, 2016
*''The Invention of Press Photography: From the Ullstein Collection 1894–1945,''
Deutsches Historisches Museum
The German Historical Museum (german: Deutsches Historisches Museum), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history o ...