fashionologie

Irving Penn, One of Fashion's Most Influential Photographers, Dead at 92

fashionologie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:47:18 PDT

>> Irving Penn, one of the fashion industry's most influential photographers, died this morning at his home in Manhattan, according to a friend. He was 92.

Penn started out in 1937 as an unpaid design assistant at Harper's Bazaar, but it wasn't until he was hired as assistant to Vogue's art director Alexander Liberman in 1943 that his career started taking off. His first assignment involved designing Vogue's covers: He sketched out several designs, but none of the staff photographers would oblige, so at Liberman's behest, he photographed them himself. His very first color photograph for Vogue, a still life of a gloves, belt and pocketbook, became a cover - October 1, 1943. His photographs appeared on over 150 Vogue covers over the next 50 years.

His perfectionism comes through in his work - Liberman related a story of when Penn was asked to take a picture of glasses falling from a serving tray. He apparently insisted that Baccarat crystal be used for authenticity's sake, and went through several dozen shattered glasses before the final picture met his standards.

In 1947, Penn was asked to make a group portrait of the twelve most photographed beauties of that era. At that session, he met Lisa Fonssagrives, a few years older than he and credited by some as the first supermodel. They fell in love and were married in 1950. The two collaborated together, producing what become some of Penn's most memorable pictures - including “Rochas ‘Mermaid Dress,’ Paris” and “Woman with Roses, Paris” - on his first assignment to photograph the Paris collections for Vogue. "I didn't know Balenciaga from a baseball player," Penn told Vogue in 2007. "But she was a real pro. And she was not offensive about teaching me." Their marriage lasted 42 years, until she passed away at 80 in 1992.

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Marion Cotillard's Lady Dior Falls Short of Lady Lisa

fashionologie — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:45:29 PST

>> Marion Cotillard's new Lady Dior handbag ad has been reminding some of Erwin Blumenfeld's iconic series of photographs that appeared in May 1939 Vogue, featuring Lisa Fonssagrives swinging from the girders of the Eiffel Tower in a Lucien Lelong dress. The only problem is, Lisa was actually being photographed on the Eiffel, whereas Marion looks like she's been photoshopped in . . . with nothing to stand on. Since this ad is only the first in a series of four done by Peter Lindbergh, maybe the photographs - or the photoshopping - will get better as they progress. Further details about the next city Marion will appear in with her bag will be revealed on LadyDior.com, which goes live later this month.
*image: source, source, source

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Models Get Their Due at 2009 Costume Institute Gala

fashionologie — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:18:39 PDT

>> Hints at the 2009 Costume Institute Gala theme have been swirling since May - first, it was thought to be an ode to Marc Jacobs, and then an ode to fashion muses. Now that the official announcement has come out, we learn that both subjects are involved, just not quite in the way that was originally thought: the May 4 gala rings in "The Model as Muse," with Marc Jacobs as honorary chair, and Kate Moss, Anna Wintour, and Justin Timberlake as co-chairs.

The accompanying exhibit, which runs May 6 to Aug. 9, will explore the evolution of models and "their roles in projecting and sometimes inspiring the fashion of their respective eras," with special focus on one of the first publicly known models, Marion Morehouse; the first supermodel, Lisa Fonssagrives; fifties mannequins Suzy Parker, Dovima, Sunny Harnett, and Dorian Leigh; sixties icons Jean Shrimpton, Moffitt, Twiggy, and Veruschka; Seventies faces Jerry Hall, Iman, and Janice Dickinson; the supermodel trinity of Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell; Nineties “It” girls Kate Moss, Amber Valletta, Nadja Auermann, and Shalom Harlow; and more recently, Gisele Bundchen.

As Harold Koda, curator of the Costume Institute, explained: "We look at the power of clothing, fashion photography and the model to project the look of an era. With a mere gesture, or the line of her body, a truly stellar model can sum up the attitude of her time, creating an alluring synergy between herself and the clothing to communicate a designer’s message to the wider world."

Seventy haute couture and ready-to-wear looks, plus photography, runway images, and video footage of models, rock stars, socialites and actresses who set the tone for each era will emphasize the theme, but most exciting of all - think of all the models who will be representing at the gala.
*image: source

John Galliano Plays Peekaboo with Fall 2008 Dior Couture

fashionologie — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:42:03 PDT

>> Transparency is still the word, in John Galliano's mind. The beanie-sporting designer had Lisa Fonssagrives, wife to Irving Penn and oft-credited as the first supermodel, in mind when producing his typical voluminous dresses, but with layers of light chiffon, rather than the heavier, stiffer fabrics Christian Dior couture has boasted in recent seasons.

Frequent collaborator Stephen Jones, meanwhile, looked to Eduardo Garcia Benito, famous for his '20s Vogue cover illustrations of women in cloches, when creating the accompanying skull cap-cum-cloches.

Peplums were aplenty and Galliano couldn't help himself, sneaking a little leopard print into the bunch. But the unifying thought with this collection seems to be: What will we see on newfound Dior client Carla Bruni-Sarkozy first?
*image: source, source

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