Olivia Gentil

Dr. Holt

English 12: Bard

8 May 2020

Capstone: The Evolution of Fashion Photography

Photography was t first a science, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, a French man took it in 1826

, it was a revolutionary invention. It was the first time someone captured a picture in time, that

wasn’t paint or a sculpture among many other art forms that existed many centuries before. As

photography grows the medium is used for many things, taking a school or family picture,

documenting historical moments and art. People being able to express their vision of things

through a camera, engaging photographs about social and political issues, taking a picture of a

river because it is pretty, it was a new way of expression. We see photography every day,

everywhere, one genre that is extremely prominent in our culture is fashion photography, it is on

magazines, social media and all over the world for commercials and such. This genre has

changed so much over the years and affected society. How has fashion photography evolved and

influenced society through the years?

Fashion photography was born in the 1850s, when portraits of high societal women were

taken portraits of, showcasing their beautiful clothing. The first fashion model was the Countess

di Castiglione Virginia Oldoni, she was Napoleon III’s mistress and a very popular woman. She

and photographer Pierre Louis Pierson worked on different sets and themes for many shoots.

After her many other celebrities became subjects of those images: actresses such as Sandra

Bernhardt. This shows how fashion photography and the world of fashion in general has always
been very involved with celebrities, that becomes even more obvious later. After these popular

women were introduced in these photographs, photographers and designers started working with

women that did not have a particular status; choosing them for their beauty. In the 1900s the first

events and fashion shows appeared. Fashion photography was present before the rising of the

fashion industry; it made the industry a much bigger world, especially when photographs were

added to fashion magazines.

Fashion magazines existed well before the first photograph, they had illustrations show

casing the clothing.  But photography really helped this glamourous printing business. Harper’s

Bazaar and Vogue were the first American fashion magazines and they were the ones that

completely transformed and bettered fashion magazines. They both started in the late 19 century,
tth

which meant that the rise of fashion photography was very well in place for the beginning of

these two emblematic names. With time the technology became better, and they did not only

have a simple picture but were able to create pages with pictures and words on the same page, it

boosted the popularity, and by the 20 century Vogue was the leading fashion magazine followed
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close by Harper’s Bazaar.

Now that fashion photography had heavily influenced the development of magazines, 

it was time for those photographs to influence society in heavy ways, with fashion photography

really starting to approach pop culture. Fashion was now fully immersed in the world, people

wanted to dress like in the magazines and needed it to be accessible, they were trying to find

some kind of thing to relate to. The 60s really were a turning point in fashion photography as

photographers started taking fashion pictures in the streets, giving it a whole new dimension. A

very well known series that ended being in Vogue, was “New York: Young Idea goes West '' by

David Bailey; who was very well-known and respected. This series shows Jean Shrimptom, who
shortly after became a supermodel, wearing chic yet ordinary outfits in the street. This started a

whole new movement mixing the genres of street and fashion. Other photographs were going

around of young people, in the streets wearing trendy clothing. The concept of trends had existed

for a long time, but it became more and more prominent, with this relatable era of the 60s.

People wanted to wear what the subjects were wearing, this is something that has continued

growing over the years being extremely important in present culture with social media. To go

back to the very beginning celebrities were also very involved in the business. The use of

celebrities was highly used when movie stars started emerging. One can find many fashion

photographs of Audrey Hepburn for example, and she was a huge fashion icon and still is to this

day. Picking up a vogue magazine or any other fashion magazine often showcases very well-

known and respected celebrities, even the models become celebrities. Being able to see how a

magazine of the sort works, for example in the “Madame Figaro”, there is always a celebrity

rubric, and a shoot with multiple images almost always showcasing a famous person in gorgeous

pictures, with gorgeous clothing.

Many have influenced and impacted the genre, from Helmut Newton to Richard Avedon

by Paolo Roversi… Two have overwhelmed the industry as well as myself; Annie Leibovitz and

Bill Cunningham. Leibovitz is probably the most respected women in the industry, she is an

American photographer who got her real start working for Rolling Stone, showcasing the

exciting and hard life of living on the road. She is most known for her celebrity pictures. She

started in the world of fashion when Ana Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, the

most powerful critic among the tough world of fashion. Leibovitz was there to cover the couture

collection of the magazine in 1999. She worked many times for the magazine taking the picture

of Hillary Clinton for the cover in 1998 to her infamous Alice in Wonderland photograph in
2003. It would be too hard to talk about all of her most iconic work, because pretty much all of it

is. She has forever punched the industries of photography and fashion and will continue to do so.

Bill Cunningham who sadly died two year ago in New York.

 Earlier David Bailey and his revolutionary series was mentioned, Cunningham seemed

very influenced as he took pictures of regular people in the streets of New York. A perfect mix

of street and fashion. If he liked the way someone was dressed or looked, he just had to push a

button and make history over and over again; a determined new Yorker getting a cab dresses in

flowy pants and a romantic white blouse became art. He also likewise Leibovitz took some

celebrity pictures but never in a pose. One that is breathtaking features David Bowie and Ava

Cherry, at the Grammys in 1975; they both have strong hats, Cherry looks straight at the lens

with a wide and powerful look, whereas Bowie has the shadow of his hat covering his eyes

leaving this mysterious bottom half of the face with very strong features. He liked the natural,

snapping a moment, in fact in almost all of his most famous work the subjects are walking. He

and Leibovitz are related in another way: Anna Wintour. He was a dear friend of hers, and went

to many fashion shows sitting next to her, showing how important he was. The funny thing about

him is that he was very low-key, always dressed very mundane, often in blue, he did not look

like he was remotely part of the fashion industry, he was the man behind the camera. The true

meaning of humble and humbling. 

Fashion and photography being art forms are also very used in a commercial aspect.

Every time someone opens a magazine and sees pictures for clothes or jewelry it can influence

them to buy the product. Making something look nice is very important in marketing. Both

aspects of the industry are however separate. Because fashion photography can be both art and

commercial but if it is made from an artistic and only artistic standpoint it is not commercial.
Take Leibovitz for example, he took fashion inspired pictures but since they were not for a brand

or not professional models they were strictly artistic. But, every time a picture is put in a

magazine, or on a billboard, on the buildings of time square, these brands of clothing make sure

that the photographs reflect some kind of artistic ability.

Fashion photography is a medium of expression that started through portraits and that

expanded tremendously through the years, making fashion a huge part of today’s society. It

helped develop how people saw the world around them, and define what art can be. The best part

about it is that it never stops evolving; the way people dress changes so the medium changes.

New faces, new talent come in and completely change the way things are making a huge change

in the industry. It is something that surrounds us all of our lives, everywhere we are, no one can

really escape from it. Some people might avoid it or not think about it, but if one looks closely

they can appreciate how beautiful these photographs are and how revolutionary they can be for

the decade or century that they live in.