Photography Beyond The Lens
How Fashion Photography Created The Modern Image Of Beauty

Edge of Humanity Magazine

1 day ago

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A dress once had to be seen in person. Photography changed that.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, fashion could travel farther than the people who wore it. Improvements in printing during the 1890s allowed photographs to appear alongside text in magazines, expanding the audience for fashion publications. In 1909, Condé Nast acquired Vogue and transformed it into an international fashion publication built increasingly around photography and glamorous models. Two years later, Edward Steichen photographed models wearing Paul Poiret designs for Art et Décoration. The Victoria and Albert Museum identifies these 1911 photographs as among the first serious fashion photographs.

The photograph did more than document clothing. It placed clothing on a body, gave that body a pose, an environment and an attitude, and presented all of it as desirable. “296 words to go. A donation keeps you reading and supports our independence. Thank you!”

By Edge of Humanity Magazine