Coming Into Fashion with Condé Nast at Palais Galliera
1st March 2014 The rich archives of Condé Nast New York, Paris, Milan and London brings together in this exhibition 150 mostly original prints from leading fashion photographers from 1918 through to the present day. Images from Henry Clarke, Cecil Beaton and Deborah Turbeville, Norman Parkinson, Horst P Horst, the elegant photos of John Rawlings, who had 66 VOGUE covers, plus Herb Ritts and Irving Penn are among the photographers included.
Viewing the photos is a pleasure, as they are well placed to appreciate the creativity, originality and dreamy contexts of the images. Although fashion photography hovers between realism and fiction, the images in Condé Nast publications generally veer towards dreams. In fact, Irving Penn, a Vogue photographer from 1943 to 2004 said: “I always felt we were selling dreams, not clothes.”
The photos are accompanied by fifteen haute couture items from the collections of the Palais Galliera. Two reading rooms provide access to over fifty magazines, plus there are contemporary films projected on a large screen, that provide a glimpse of the possible future of fashion photography. The exhibition continues through 25th May 2014. www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr JG
Photos: All images copyright Condé Nast. Top Image: Edward Steinchen, American Vogue, December 1923