Lecture Notes// Fashion as Photograph

Focusing on the difference between photography & the relationship between the body, model & Photographer. And to see how trends influence the public perception.

William Henry Fox Talbot, INVENTED A FIXING PROCESS, calotype - process using silver nitrate. (Destruction of the negative)

(Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione, photographed by Adolphe Braun, 1856...had around 280 photographs of her, in a way she is one of the first fashion models, focusing more on her character (i.e. personality, directing the shoot, signature moments of her life.) 

Another photo by Pierson 1861-1867 - the image really challenged taboo and sexual focus, photographing only her legs & feet which was frowned upon at this period.

Age of the fashion magazine, improvements in the halftone printing (dot) process. 

Paul Poiret ---- freedom from corsetry, signature shapes - hobble skirt, harem pants. Influenced by antique dress - draping. Can see this in his designs -- Art et Decoration, 1911. Edward Steichen photographs Paul Poirets design.

Mid 1930s - hype of modernism. EDWARD STEICHEN, major detail, lit theatrically, display the materials, what the experience is perceived to be. celebration of the technical construction of the garment aswell as the photographic construction.

Vogue vs Harpers Bazaar..... Leaders in fashion photographs in the 1920s and 30s.

Horst P Horst costume for Salvador Dali's 'Dream of Venus'. 1939.

British Vogue - Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) & Vanity fair.

Photographed and was a member of the 'British Young Things' of the 1920s/30s.

Prolific diarist.

Designed sets, costumes, and lighting for Broadway.

Scope of his work - also interested in the film industry, Vivien Leigh for Vogue, mid 1930's  encapsulates all his interests in one photograph. 

Women fashion photographers - Lee Miller - Photographed by Steichen, American photographer and fashion model at age 19.

Photographer - Goes to Paris in 1929 with photographer Man Ray - Involved in the surrealist movement in photography ---- Also acts as a war correspondent. 

Panorama of Paris, Suzy Parker in Jacques Fath Gown, 1953. Visual contrast in the sense that the character in the background who is part of this image is wearing black whereas in the foreground the woman is wearing white, highlighting the focus of the photograph.

American photographer - Richard Avedon (1923-2004) Harpers Bazaar till 1966, Vogue 1966 onwards, The book 'In the American West'. (Art documentary field.)

Pioneer of an in-between moment in fashion photography, tends to photograph people in an emotional/ movement state breaking the norms of photography.

Helmut Newton (1920-2004) Vogue and Harpers Bazaar.

Guy Bourdin for Charles Jourdan shoes

 

I-D magazine VS The Face. Fashion magazines that encompassed a whole new attitude and face of leadership, all really a trend towards Heroin sheep.....Juergen Teller (1964) German photographer, photos in the face of Vogue. Has worked with Vivienne Westwood etc.

Corrine Day (1965-2010) British fashion photographer and model, worked for the Face & Vogue. Vogue cover with Kate Moss credited with the beginnings of the trend for the 'waif' look.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP - MASSIVE FACTOR IN FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY.

Digital image manipulation - graphics editing programme - first launched in 2003.

Nick Knight - Manipulations a big part of his work which is heavily influenced by Architecture. Worked with Yohji Yammamoto in the 90's and with Alexander McQueen.

Fashion Blogging, Democratises fashion photography. Anyone can write about/ photograph fashion. E.g. Tavi Gevinsons 'style rookie'. 

Street-style Copenhagen... http://copenhagenstreetstyle.thepop.com/

Further Reading ========== Barnard, M (2002) Fashion as Communication. Routledge, London

Rankin, (2009) Seven photographs that changed Fashion, BBC4.

Lecture notes// A history of Advertising

This lecture's linked to social media and communication. Exploring how large-scale color printing technology has developed since its arrival in the 19th century.

'The beginning by Wight' - Advertising, the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

-Bill Bernbach, the first person to combine Copywriters & art directors, Along with Hegarty, the pair were two creative advertising giants.

 

'Bill Bernbach, the legendary founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach, ignited the creative revolution and changed the world of communications and business forever. He was a philosopher, a scientist, a humanitarian. And his influence was felt well beyond the world of advertising. As our industry faces a new creative revolution, Bernbach's ideas and keen insights into human nature may be more relevant than ever.'

Lever - the First British Tycoon - To build a gallery & open it up for the public, it was the year of  the crystal palace exhibition.

Lever was born in 1851 & Prompted by the Promotional stimuli that surrounded him. He was born at the height of the empire, & the international exhibition prompted large scale color printing in the 1860's. 

It was during the 1860's that cereal companies figured how to; print, fold & fill boxes mechanically.

The Advertising Boom - this allowed taxes on newspapers to be abolished in 1855 + in 1861.
This made it more reasonable to advertise in the papers.

A second Boom - this consisted of a technological progress; reproduction, color printing and 
pictorial ads in the 1880s.
Lever Brothers founders: James Darcy & William Hesketh Lever (1885).

By the 1890s technology enabled contemporary paintings to be reproduced. The sunlight soap.

Target audience; Women. High feelings and emotive contexts displayed the mother daughter bond that could be achieved. Advertising transformed a local soap manufacturer in 1885 to one of the worlds leading brands

Innovative events such as Democratization caused the Royal Endorsement - meaning everyone should be able to afford soap etc.

Imperial Mission - Lewis. We needed to be civilised, 'there was no commodity needed more than this soap'. It could wash the natives and cleanse the great unwashed of Britain's working class.

The notion of imperialism was advertised through Posters and Packaging, appealing to a wide audience. This was because the Empire was celebrated on biscuits, cigarettes, soap & chocolate = Part of the working class fabric.

  Investing in Advertisement cost Lever £2 million within the first 2 decades of marketing soap. 

In 1890 Lever purchased a Philadelphia soap firm and others like it.

First Creative Advertising

Selecting & Presenting Contemporary art works communicated a more powerful desired message.

The message was told in an interesting and innovative way.

The imagery provided a spectacle.

By adding simple endlines, Lever managed to change the meanings of images to his advantage.

Art Direction 

Gross suggested 'Plantol' (Another soap company) should depict tropical climates and express the care that is exercised in refining oils. Whereas it was simply a vision to disguise the forced slavery. Palm Oil was one of the main ingredients.

Innovative ideas of getting the consumer to buy the product consecutively. For example, saving coupons to receive an advert print and in the 1890's capturing the children to receive paper dolls with interchangeable outfits.

Ad expertise = the power of truth, the trick is to tell the truth, but make it interesting. Truth can be Disarming.

Audiences - to convince peoples they did not want but need this product. 

Uni Lever now has 900 brands...