Fashion photography is a genre dedicated to the display of clothing and fashion accessories, often conduced for advertisements for fashion magazines and designer brands. What it ultimately sells to the concept of beauty; by simply purchasing the product displayed, you are buying the lifestyle as well. Fashion is an evolving subject that is constantly in a state of flux in accordance to style and recent trends. Additionally, fashion photography has continued to transform. While fashion photography in the past was more focused on clothing and the product, today it is solely about the image and the lifestyle. There are numerous fashion photographers including Mario Testino, Richard Avedon, and various others who have made their mark in photography although style has continued to change. All in all, fashion photography has evolved through the works of these well-known photographers, each having a unique style and influence on the glamorous world of fashion.
Mario Testino was particularly known for utilizing “luxury realism” in order to sell fashion products. Following in his particularly style, he has photographed The Prince of Wales and Prince William and Harry. Testino was born and raised in Lima, Peru and he came to London in order to build his career in fashion photography. In 1997, he published the well-known Vanity Fair cover of the Princess of Wales. Mario Testino was dedicated to making the individuals he photographed look their absolute best. In addition to his work photographing the Princes, he also photographed Prince William and Kate Middleton at their engagement party in 2010. Further, he has completed numerous fashion stories for magazines including Vogue, V, Gucci, and Vanity Fair. Additionally, he has worked with brands including Burberry, Gucci, Versace, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, and Michael Kors and various others. Testino was known for shooting the royal families, and to this day is regularly employed by these British families since the year of 1997. His iconic work has been featured all throughout the world through different magazines.
One of the most well known American photographers, Richard Avedon, was born in New York City in 1923. As a young boy, he immediately fell in love with fashion, and started his career taking photographs of his father’s clothing store. Avedon describes this child memory stating, “One evening my father and I were walking down Fifth Avenue looking at the store windows. “In front of the Plaza Hotel, I saw a bald man with a camera posing a very beautiful woman against a tree. He lifted his head, adjusted her dress a little bit and took some photographs. Later, I saw the picture in Harper’s Bazaar. I didn’t understand why he’d taken her against that tree until I got to Paris a few years later: the tree in front of the Plaza had that same peeling bark you see all over the Champs-Elysees.” (A+E Television Network, 2012). Avedon worked for Harper’s Bazaar for approximately 20 years, and he later switched to work for Vogue in 1965 until 1990. Avedon was one the greatest photographers of the 20th century and has photographed almost everyone in the world who he believed was important. Some of the celebrities he photographed include the members of the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy and other notable individuals. In addition, he has photographed political figures including both Hilary Clinton and Toni Morrison. Avedon’s brilliant work is mostly famous for his minimalism to the photograph. In 1992, he became the first staff photographer in history of The New Yorker. It is said that he wanted to photograph people for their accomplishments rather than based on their celebrity status. Currently, there is the Richard Avedon Foundation that launched in 2004, shortly after he past away. The mission of this foundation is to keep his work alive and appreciate Avedon’s work through worldwide exhibitions, libraries and scholarly institutions. Many young and upcoming photographers idolize Avedon for his astonishing work that he has put in to the world. Avedon is a fashion icon photographer who will always be remembered, admired and looked up to as a role model.
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