The ravishing glamor of Dior gowns captured by the world’s most iconic photographers
Throughout six decades of its history, the Christian Dior fashion house employed the most illustrious photographers of their time to capture swan-like models in its haute-couture gowns. Now, the maison has put some of those iconic photos on display for The Legendary Images: Great Photographers and Dior exhibition, which opened this month at the Christian Dior museum in Granville, north-west France
Courtesy Henry Clarke/Galliera/Roger-Viollet, Musée Galliera/Adagp, Paris 2014
Over 200 images by the likes of Cecil Beaton, Helmut Newton and Patrick Demarchelier are on show alongside 60 lavish Dior gowns, structured around two themes selected by the curator Florence Muller: "I wanted to show the vision of Christian Dior - the couturier, the way he envisaged a dress, but also, the way a photographer would look at that, their own comment on the original creation" she says.
Copyright Norman Parkinson Ltd/Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive
Muller insists that fashion photographers have total freedom to follow their own vision, and highlights the example of Clifford Coffin who, she says, had a reputation for being extremely authoritative on set: "He had an idea of the image, and knew exactly how he wanted to execute it," she explains, "he was a master of perfection and glamor, but everyone had to do exactly what he said."
Courtesy Clifford Coffin/Rizzoli
Belgian photographer Willy Vanderperre, who captured this shot for Dior, says that creating an artistic photo for a fashion label requires mutual trust and understanding: "There are codes that are specific to the brand you work for that you take on board, but from that point you can bring in your own stamp. You can start to search for the boundaries that push those codes and imagery to make them exciting and modern," he adds.
Courtesy Willy Vanderperr
Vanderperre says that he sets himself no boundaries when devising the concept of a shoot: "I feel it's easier to start the thought process with the most outlandish idea, and then fine-tune it to where you want to take it." he explains.
Courtesy Willy Vanderperre/Art Partner
Christian Dior was famously inspired by the beauty of Parisian women, and many photographers chose to capture the brand's creations in iconic locations in and around the French capital. This ethereal image by the photographic duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin was taken in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
Courtesy Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
The exhibition serves as a visual history of the way haute-couture was represented throughout the decades: "The photos from the 1940s and 1950s were all about the ladylike attitude," says Florence Muller. "The models were trained dancers, and they behaved and posed gracefully, like in classical ballet."
Courtesy Cecil Beaton, Vogue Paris, octobre 1951
As the position of women in public life evolved, so did the style of fashion imagery: "Women are more active participants in society now than they were then, and the photos reflect that."
Paolo Roversi/Art+Commerce
However, there are still photographers who are inspired by the glamor of the old era: "They give it a new lease of life with a contemporary twist, creating something modern, but beautiful and refined."
