Icons of Style – More Than a Fashion Show

    John Thomson·
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    It’s billed as a fashion retrospective but the Getty Centre’s current exhibition Icons of Style: 100 years of Fashion Photography is really about style and form and the elevation of commercial photography into an art form.

    We see the boyish aesthetic of the 1920’s evolving into the more feminine style of the 1930’s as photographers play with theatrical poses and dramatic lighting. Witness their strong, simple black-and-white studies. Model Wearing a Gown by Augustabernard by Man Ray is particularly impressive.

    Photographers experiment with location, colour and gender as the decades fly by. Introducing men into photo shoots is a big deal in the 1950’s and in the ‘60’s the androgynous look appears.

    By the time we get to the 2000’s, anything goes. Fashion photographers shoot their models in the street to get an edgy documentary feel and set up fake tableaux like Bath House by Deborah Turbeville. These later images go beyond technical proficiency; they tell a story and invoke emotional reactions. The fist pump from Kate Moss, Times Square, New York is timely if contrived and Tim Walker’s The Dress-Lamp Tree is deliciously whimsical. The show is supposed to be about the evolution of fashion as told through photography but it really holds a mirror up to ourselves and our culture.

    Icons of Style: 100 Years of Fashion Photography runs until October 11 at the Getty Centre in Los Angeles.

    Edward Steichen, American, born Luxembourg, 1879–1973 Perfection in Black; Margaret Horan, 1935 Gelatin silver print 25.4 x 20.3 cm (10 x 8 in.) Courtesy of and © Condé Nast / Vogue, November 1, 1935 EX.2018.7.45
    Man Ray, American, 1890–1976; Model Wearing a Gown by Augustabernard, 1936; Gelatin silver print 28.9 x 22.7 cm (11 3/8 x 8 15/16 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © Man Ray Trust ARS-ADAGP 84.XM.1000.53
    Horst P. Horst, American, born Germany, 1906–1999; The Mainbocher Corset, Paris, 1939; Gelatin silver print 55.2 x 40.6 cm (21 3/4 x 16 in.); Courtesy Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles © Condé Nast / Vogue, September 15, 1939 EX.2018.7.128
    Lillian Bassman, American, 1917–2012; The V Back Evenings, Suzy Parker, Dress by Trigère, New York, 1955; Gelatin silver print 24.1 x 21.7 cm (9 1/2 x 8 9/16 in.); The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © The Estate of Lillian Bassman 2011.35
    Neal Barr, American, born 1932 Diana Newman, 1966; Gelatin silver print 43.2 x 35.3 cm (17 x 13 7/8 in.); The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs
    Bruce Weber, American, born 1946; Bruce Hulse and Talisa Soto for British “Vogue,” Bellport, NY, 1982; Gelatin silver print 59.7 x 49.5 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.); Courtesy of Bruce Weber and Nan Bush © Bruce Weber EX.2018.7.17
    Guy Bourdin, French, 1928–1991; Untitled, for Charles Jourdan, Spring 1977, negative, 1977; printed later Chromogenic print 45.7 x 34.3 cm (18 x 13 1/2 in.); The Estate of Guy Bourdin, courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery Image copyright The Guy Bourdin Estate 2018, courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery EX.2018.7.6
    Deborah Turbeville, American, 1932–2013; Bath House, negative, 1975; print, about 1980; Gelatin silver print 40.6 x 60.8 cm (16 x 23 15/16 in.); The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of the Estate of Deborah Turbeville © Deborah Turbeville Foundation 2017.90
    Sarah Moon, French, born England, 1941; Sveta for Hussein Chalayan, 2000; Carbon print 57.2 x 43.4 cm (22 1/2 x 17 1/16 in.); The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © Sarah Moon 2011.52
    Sheila Metzner, American, born 1939; Uma in Dress by Patou, 1986; Pigment print 62.7 x 41.8 cm (24 11/16 x 16 7/16 in.); The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council © Sheila Metzner 2016.90
    Hiro, American, born China, 1930; Black Evening Dress in Flight, New York, negative, 1963; print, 1994 Dye imbibition print 48.9 x 38.1 cm (19 1/4 x 15 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council © Hiro 2012.24.2
    Tim Walker, British, born 1970; The Dress-Lamp Tree, England, 2002; Chromogenic print 119.4 x 143.5 cm (47 x 56 1/2 in.); Courtesy of Steven and Catherine Fink © Tim Walker EX.2018.7.145
    Glen Luchford, British, born 1968; Kate Moss, Times Square, New York, negative, 1994; print, 2017; Gelatin silver print 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.); The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of Glen and Tanya Luchford © Glen Luchford 2017.121.1
    Richard Burbridge, British, born 1965; In Silhouette, 2007; Chromogenic print 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.); Courtesy of the artist EX.2018.7.170