Fashion_Photography__Past_and_Present

Fashion photography began around the year 1900, when the photographer began to attempt to convert the model and the article of clothing in something artistic that was more than just the image of a women in a dress. Through the use of locations, props, sets, hair styles, make-up and experiments in composition, over time, fashion photography has undoubtedly become a celebrated art form. Fashion photography blends so many different aesthetics into one and the outcome is more than usually successful and interesting to look at, and even though the photographers and models have changed through time, fashion photography remains based on the fact that something can be more beautiful in a photograph than in real life. I have chosen what I find to be two of the most influential fashion photographers of this century to research into for this essay, Guy Bourdin and Terry Richardson. These photographers represent to me, the past and present of cutting edge fashion photography. Even though their work spans decades apart, there are still links between their styles. The way in which these photographers have translated their work through to the world of fashion advertising is also something that must be considered when trying to understand how their work might be perceived by a mainstream audience. Terry Richardson has a photography style that is easily identifiable. His work is considered to be somewhat controversial, however, this does not prevent him from being one of the top contemporary fashion photographers of the 21st century, Richardson’s work has a veracity and a fresh urgency about it which some other modern fashion photographers can fail to capture in the same way that he does. He has a distinct, yet easily recognisable style that comes across as being very raw and undefined, his images are very sincere. Occasionally his work can contain explicit imagery and be quite contentious. Some of his work could easily be formalised as ‘porn photography’ but it seems to balance on the verge being indecent. I find his work to be refreshing to look at, it is so different from the constant barrage of boring airbrushed images taking over in the media creating an un-realistic and un-attainable image of what it is to be beautiful. He shoots real people in real situations and his images don’t have the polished look that is favoured in most of today’s fashion magazines. His work relies on the accidental and this is what gives his photographs such a strong essence of narrative and an overwhelming sense of urgency. Richardson’s work tackles humour and very brave subjects. He dares to show things in a new and different way, or just really bluntly. He uses snapshot instamatic cameras, “I like using snapshot cameras because they're idiot-proof. I have bad eyesight, and I'm no good at focusing big cameras”. (http://nymag.com/shopping/articles/fallfashion/richardson1.htm) The snapshot camera give a blunt ‘in your face’ appearance and do not look finished or manipulated in any way. He does not seem to pay much attention to lighting or the angles of the camera, instead it is all about creating the right mood for his models, and capturing the emotion of the photograph. The focus is always on the people in his images, he is able to capture the feelings of his subjects easily, “To me, photographs are more about people than clothes. I'm not one of those photographers who says, "Ooh, that dress is just making me crazy." (http://www.hintmag.com/shootingstars/terryrichardson/terryrichardson12.htm) As true as this statement may be it hasn’t stopped him from shooting many successful advertising campaigns for some of the biggest fashion labels in the world. Gucci, Calvin Klein and Lee Jeans have all commissioned him to do campaigns and he has been working with Italian label Sisley for five years on their print ad campaigns. "We'd run the gamut of slick, finished photography," says Douglas Lloyd, the art director behind the Gucci campaigns, about the decision to use Richardson. "We wanted a rawer energy and more sex appeal, and that's what you find in Terry's work." (http://nymag.com/shopping/articles/fallfashion/richardson1.htm). The final images that were used in the print ads are much less provocative compared to his other work, probably because the sexuality should not take over the photo completely as at the same time the image is trying to promote and sell a product. It is clear that Terry Richardson’s intention is to introduce sexual images into a mainstream context. His work is being seen now in a more commercial way because over time society has become desensitized to sexual connotation and imagery in the media. His work can provoke questions and be rather intriguing, where as some is just plain amusing. He is an innovator and he is constantly changing the way we look at fashion photography. Guy Bourdin is probably one of the most overlooked fashion photographers of the 21st century, he did most of his work for French Vogue during the 1960’s and 70’s and he tended to be overshadowed by Helmut Newton, but this did not stop him from becoming a ground-breaking image maker who had a profoundly influential impact on fashion photography. What makes Guy Bourdin’s work have so much impact is the way in which he composes his images, they have a great visual power to them. In a quote from Albar Elbaz, the head of French fashion house Lanvin, he said “Monsieur Bourdin used lighting and perspective in his images like a writer uses ink to create words”, What he means by this is that Bourdin used striking composition and bold simple colours to create images which were graphically strong and totally unique. His use of perspective really draws the viewer into the photograph and you find yourself looking upon them repeatedly trying to figure out the purpose and concept behind the photo. It is obvious that he was interested in female sexuality and he explores this is his photographs in a way which make the viewer feel like a voyeur. Looking at his photographs it appears that he was more into tragedies than happy endings, even the photographs that are filled with brightness and light still have grisly undertones, and it is as if he is combining death and glamour. There is a definite feel of anticipation and tension in the photos, they have a cinematic narrative to them, it is as if something has already happened before the photo and that something would go on to happen after it. Bourdin also had elements of humor within his work, as seen in the picture on the left which shows a women collapsed on the floor, a gilt framed painting of a ship has fallen off the wall and onto her head. It mock sophistication and refinement which is signified by symbols of status such as the artwork, the attractive shapely legs of the model and expensive looking high heels and glamorous dress. Guy Bourdin did most of his work for French Vogue. “Guy Bourdin worked for French Vogue for over 30 years where he demanded and was allowed full editorial control of his work. During the 1970's and 1980's, his photographs also filled the pages of international fashion magazines in campaigns for Charles Jourdan, Bloomingdales, Versace, Chanel and Dior. Bourdin's approach to advertising campaigns reflected a distinct change in this period by rejecting the `product shot' in favor of atmospheric, often surreal tableaux and suggestions of narrative. Bourdin was not alone in demystifying the object, but he was the most radical in his approach.” (Guy Bourdin-Alison M. Gingeras 2006). Looking back I find it surprising that his images were published for a commercial audience because of how suggestive and sexually charged they were. It is imaginable that at the time his images would have alarmed some people because they were the first of their kind, however his ad campaign for Charles Jourdan would have brought a fresh, vivacity to the footwear market at the time. Guy Bourdin was heavily influenced by surrealism, specifically the works of Man Ray and Edward Weston, a formalist photographer who was fascinated by texture whose work includes contrasts of different surfaces and textures. This particular image by Bourdin shows the influence that Weston had on his work. We see a models legs, stockings heels and bare buttocks protruding out from beneath a bed which has a pink fluffy toy elephant lying on top, this is most certainly attention grabbing but what gives the image its overall wow factor is the striking contrast between the silk bed spread, the fluffy toy, the plush velvet carpet, the jet black stockings and the models smooth pale skin. Bourdin’s print ads for Charles Jourdan shoes show links to surrealist painter Rene Magritte. In Bourdin’s photograph ‘Dummy Legs’ the use of perspective and illusion links perfectly with Magritte’s painting ‘The Human Condition’. And the image by Bourdin that is aptly named ‘Magritte’s Shoes’ shows use of a figure similar to the one of the man in a bowler hat that would be recognized from Magritte’s painting ‘Son of Man’. There is a mystique that surrounds Bourdin’s work that you would find in that of Rene Magritte’s. He seemed to be inclined towards that synthetic and not the natural, which is highlighted by the influx of saturated colour, and he clearly favoured the elegant and not the sensible. His Fashion photography was a defiance of the conventional characteristics of commercial image making of the time. Traditional fashion images were making beauty and clothing their central theme but Bourdin’s fashion images were a far-reaching, un-conventional substitute. Instead of making fashion the central theme to his photographs it exists only as an opulent adornment rather than the main subject. He brought dark fantasies of aspiration, envy, greed and expenditure to a mainstream audience, his photographs have strong narratives which thrusts the viewer into a world of luxury and pleasure crossed with peril and anxiety. As no other photographer had done before, Bourdin made it obvious that within the context of fashion, it is rarely the product that is being promoted that compels us, it is the overall image, which lingers on the mind. I believe that Guy Bourdins images made fashion photography what it is today, by believing that it is not just about presenting or showing off a product, it is about creating an overall image that is desirous, powerful and thought provoking, which is what Guy Bourdin did with his wicked and witty photographs. Looking at the works of both Terry Richardson and Guy Bourdin, it is not surprising why they are both considered two of the most exceptional and talented in their profession. In the 1960’s and 70’s Guy Bourdin established that edgy fashion images did not just have to appear in fashion journals and editorials, he made his photographs viewable to a mainstream audience with his campaigns for Charles Jourdan shoes, and he made it clear that it is the image is what seduces us and not the product. Terry Richardson is one of the most sought after photographers, he has lent his distinctive style and talents to numerous advertising campaigns and shot editorials for some of the most distinguished fashion magazines in the world. Richardson constantly subverts the viewer’s expectations of fashion photography- glamour, perfection, and visual seduction, and he reproduces a rough and real appearance of daily life. When comparing Richardson and Bourdin’s images at an immediate first look, the visuals and aesthetics they make use of are totally different from one another. However, since I have explored their work in more detail I feel that the one main thing they have in common is how they employ shock tactics as a way to draw the viewer into the image an make them look twice, although they approach this in a different way to one another. Guy Bourdin creates a dark sinister mis-en-scene in his photographs that pulls the viewer into a fantasy world where luxury and glamour cross paths with menace and apprehension and there is a strong narrative of discomfort. Terry Richardson uses eroticism and occasionally humour in his work to create a bold statement of freedom and pleasure. His signature ‘snap-shot’ camera style keeps everything looking real and un-synthetic, and the viewers are left to make up their own story about what is going on. Although the overall appearance of Bourdin and Richardson’s images are totally different, they are both equally as visually strong as each other and they can both create images that are attention grabbing and have that little extra something that makes an ad campaign really stand out. Fashion photography can be so much more than just an advertisement recording clothes, successful pictures do far more than that, they capture the spirit of the time and state what is desired. Past and present contemporary photography reflects the photographers’ personal interpretation or vision of that particular time. Fashion photography does not have to be chiefly concerned with an obvious presentation of a specific dress, top or pair of trousers because most of the time clothing is subtlety present. It is the images which create a certain mood, attitude or impression rather than sell a certain item of clothing. It is more the photograph than the fashion represented which entices potential consumers and creates a magazine or labels public persona. What will always stay permanent is that sought after clothes, stunning models and brilliant photographers make an impressive combination.