Seven Photographs that changed fashion

After watching this fascinating documentary about a year ago I was reminded of it again this week and was more than excited to watch it again with a couple of my class mates. In this documentary British photographer Rankin takes us on a short historical journey of fashion photography and seven of the most famous and iconic photographs of all time which he then recreates to the best of his ability which a modern twist. I think what interests me the most is the difference between the original image compared to Rankins version and also the difference in outcome due to old technology vs. the new. These original images by David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Erwin Blumenfeld, Herb Ritts and Guy Bourdin are so iconic aqnd influencial that even those who have never studied photography or had an interest in the fashion/photography world will be able to recognise at least one of these photographs. 

Cecil Beaton, Hat Box, 1934

 

Helmut Newton, 1975, Rue Aubriot Vogue

 Erwin Blumenfeld, 1950, Vogue Cover

Guy Bourdin, 1970, Untitled

Richard Avedon, 1955, Dovima with elephants 
 

Herb Ritts, 1984, Fred with tyres

 David Bailey, 1963, Jean Shrimpton

This image is my favourite out of the seven, it was a very hard decision choosing as I also love the Helmut Newton and Erwin Blumenfeld photographs, however I chose this image as I adore how it shows how beautiful Jean Shrimpton is. The lighting and shadows show the contours of her body and her flattering profile and I love the elegant position she is standing in. David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton were lovers at the time, so I thought it was a nice idea that Rankin chose his model for the photograph to be his girlfriend Tuuli. I prefur the original photograph as it is just so timeless and stunning. I think it the sharpness of Jeans flawless profile that stands out most to me in this photograph and that Bailey used a sheet of card instead of a wind machine to blow her hair back so gracefully in the image. Rankins version is a great image also however to me just looks like any other fashion photograph, where as Baileys is a striking and well deserved iconic image with a beautifully immaculate and soft finish. The beauty of Jean Shrimpton in this image made me look into more of her portraits and I was interested in the relationship with Bailey and her at the time, I discovered this film that was made in 2012 called We'll Take Manhattan which is about the love affair between the model and photographer in the 60's: http://www.iwannawatch.to/2012/01/well-take-manhattan-2012/

 References:
http://vimeo.com/60749359 - The Seven photographs that changed fashion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bailey
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1885440/
Images sourced from Google images.