From the corseted bodices of the early 20th century to the highly popularized Instagram streetstyle fashion blogs, fashion remains in a constant state of evolution. From June 26 to October 21, the J. Paul Getty Museum houses Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography from 1911-2011, which will feature over a hundred and sixty photographs illustrating the progression of fashion throughout the world. Designed to legitimize fashion photography as a museum-worthy art form, this exhibition will heighten “the ability of some fashion photographs to transcend their original commercial function in order to be considered true works of fine art,” says exhibit curator Paul Martineau
Once considered a lesser medium due to its commerciality, fashion photography has finally risen to the status of museum curated artwork. For four months, The J. Paul Getty Museum will showcase the evolution of fashion from 1911 to 2011, featuring over one hundred and sixty photographs and an extensive collection of costumes, illustrations, magazine covers, videos, and advertisements. Timothy Potts, director of the Getty Museum, explains their newfound interest in this modern art form: “Fashion photography is now recognized as having produced some of the most creative work of the twentieth century, transcending its illustrative function to yield images of great artistic quality and sophistication.” This exhibition portrays the generational changes in fashion, recognizing that this aesthetic has a discernible history and a distinct progression of style based in political and economic changes in society.
The exhibition begins in 1911, when women’s fashion began the shift from tight, corseted dresses to looser, more practical clothing. Potts notes that women’s fashion changed particularly during the Great Depression and the Second World War due to political and economic distress at home; as women entered the workforce, the need for practical clothing only grew. Ironically, fashion magazines responded by increasing the luxuriousness of the clothing they photographed. It represented a respite for overworked women, an escape from the realities of the Depression and the war. Only in the 1980s and 1990s did male fashion enter the public view. Gianni Versace and Giorgio Armani integrated male sexuality into their designs by portraying handsome, well-built models, forever altering the history of male fashion photography.
The primary goal of the Icons of Style exhibition is to recognize fashion photography as a legitimate art form via its aesthetic evolution and economic significance. Paul Martineau, the exhibition’s curator and associate curator of photography, says, “My hope is that this sweeping introduction to fashion photography will not only educate and delight our visitors, but also inspire new scholarly inquiry. Long overlooked, the gradual integration of fashion photographs into museum collections will make it easier for these pictures to be evaluated in terms of the larger history of the medium of photography.”
The exhibition begins in 1911, when women’s fashion began the shift from tight, corseted dresses to looser, more practical clothing. Potts notes that women’s fashion changed particularly during the Great Depression and the Second World War due to political and economic distress at home; as women entered the workforce, the need for practical clothing only grew. Ironically, fashion magazines responded by increasing the luxuriousness of the clothing they photographed. It represented a respite for overworked women, an escape from the realities of the Depression and the war. Only in the 1980s and 1990s did male fashion enter the public view. Gianni Versace and Giorgio Armani integrated male sexuality into their designs by portraying handsome, well-built models, forever altering the history of male fashion photography.
The primary goal of the Icons of Style exhibition is to recognize fashion photography as a legitimate art form via its aesthetic evolution and economic significance. Paul Martineau, the exhibition’s curator and associate curator of photography, says, “My hope is that this sweeping introduction to fashion photography will not only educate and delight our visitors, but also inspire new scholarly inquiry. Long overlooked, the gradual integration of fashion photographs into museum collections will make it easier for these pictures to be evaluated in terms of the larger history of the medium of photography.”
Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, 1911-2011 inaugurates on June 26 and will be on view until October 21 at the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Dr., Los Angeles.
Guy Bourdin. Untitled, for Charles Jourdan, Spring 1977. The Guy Bourdin Estate 2017, Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery.
Scott Schuman. Style Profile, Ni’ma Ford, December 22, 2011. © The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman. Courtesy Danziger Gallery.
Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Miss M, negative 1988. © Jean-Baptiste Mondino, courtesy of M+B Gallery, Los Angeles.
Lillian Bassman. The V Back Evenings, Suzy Parker, Dress by Trigère, New York, 1955. © The Estate of Lillian Bassman. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Herb Ritts. Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood, 1989. © Herb Ritts Foundation. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of Herb Ritts Foundation.
Bruce Weber. Bruce Hulse and Talisa Soto for British Vogue, Bellport, NY 1982, 1982. © Bruce Weber. Courtesy of Bruce Weber and Nan Bush.
Hiro. Black Evening Dress in Flight, New York, negative 1963; print 1994. © Hiro. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council.
Neal Barr. Diana Newman, 1966. © Neal Barr. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council.
Kourken Pakchanian. Cheryl Tiegs in a Gown by Halston, Brasilia, 1973. © Condé Nast. Kourken Pakchanian, Vogue, © Condé Nast.
David Sims. Yohji Yamamoto, Autumn/Winter 1995. © David Sims.
Horst P. Horst. The Mainbocher Corset, Paris, 1939. Horst P. Horst, Vogue, September 15, 1939, © Condé Nast. Courtesy: Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.
Horst P. Horst. Jean Patchett in a Jacket and Matching Dress by Mollie Parnis for Vogue, negative 1949; print about 1985. © Condé Nast. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Horst P. Horst, Vogue, March 1, 1949, © Condé Nast.
Richard Avedon. Renée, "The New Look of Dior," Place de la Concorde, Paris, August 1947, August 1947. Copyright © The Richard Avedon Foundation. The Richard Avedon Foundation, New York.
Willy Maywald. "Liszt" Gown by Dior, Paris, 1948. © 2018 Association Willy Maywald/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Helmut Newton. Woman Examining Man, Saint-Tropez 1975, negative 1975; print about 1984. © The Helmut Newton Estate. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of the Helmut Newton Foundation. Image courtesy of Maconochie Photography.
Victor Skrebneski. Givenchy Red, Paris, negative 1990; print about 1995. © Victor Skrebneski. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council.
Glen Luchford. Kate Moss, negative 1994; print 2017. © Glen Luchford. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of Glen and Tanya Luchford.