The Clock Is Ticking…
If you want to do something memorable for fashion week, skip the Jane hotel, Rosebar, The Standard and all of the usual haunts and go to the International center of Photography to see Avedon Fashion 1944-2000. Blocks away from the tents and fabulousness of fashion week is the first ever museum exhibit dedicated to visionary fashion photographer Richard Avedon’s entire career in fashion.
The centerpiece of the exhibit “paris at night” is a romantic journey into a nocturnal playland. Physically the photos are hung in dark gallery with black walls and no lights except the spotlights on each image. This shadowy display sets the mood for images that evoke a dark yet glamorous portrayal of Paris in the 60′s. Many of the photos have a candid quality because of the effortlessness of the shots. In some instances there is a papparazi-like quality, in others there is a fly on the wall voyeuristic feel. The fashion, locations, models, lighting and perspective culminate in a romantically noir environ that beckons the audience. I wished i was there, in the photos, in the scene, in the Moulin Rouge, in the cafe des Beaux Arts, on the Pont Neuf.
Equally as powerful, the rest of the exhibit is a walk through a colorful(figuratively) career that spans almost 6 decades of Fashion Photography. Coco Chanel, Audrey hepburn, Stephanie Seymour, Bridget Bardot, Suzy Parker and Lauren Hutton are some of the more well know faces that you will see as subject in Avedon’s work. Particularly powerful are some of his images created in post-war Paris. His photos brought life and fun mixed with fashion to a place where at the time was not as such. The transplanting of Avedon’s American style into the Backdrop of an old European city created seamless juxtapositions that at the time had never been seen. Also on exhibit are some Vintage prints and Archival Material from his years at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue Magazines alongside vintage copies of Magazines and Editorial Layouts. Ahhh the Clothing… It goes without saying that there is nonstop inspiration from some of the most amazing and celebrated houses of fashion all throughout the exhibit.
Stop reading and Go! Hurry Exhibit ends 9/20
International Center of Photography
1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036
Phone 212.857.0000
Photos: R. Avedon
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