Fashion Photography Shoots for the Stars

Art Business News, Oct, 2001 by Vanessa Silberman

Image Source, which publishes images for various museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was inspired to begin publishing open-edition posters of vintage fashion photography after hearing about the museum's upcoming fashion photography exhibit on Horst and Hoyningen-Huene. In addition, when Downes learned of the frenzied lines of people waiting to see the Jackie Kennedy exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he became certain he had spotted a trend.

"I'd already noticed that vintage photography had been very popular in the last couple of years" said Downes. "I've seen an increase of people collecting old, black-and-white photography. We thought we would try and grab some of that appeal, and I think fashion photography works very well with that.... And then there was the Jackie Kennedy exhibit. That show has been a hit, and it focuses on a lot of hats and dresses. These events inspired me to take a chance on publishing some fashion images."

And what a chance this proved to be. The collection of new fashion images, called"Glamour of the 20th Century" made their debut at DECOR expo--Atlanta last month to rave reviews. Selected from hundreds of images from the archives at Getty and Corbis, the six open-edition posters are filled with fashion, glamour and nostalgia for a time gone by.

"I talk to a lot of framers, and they have been asking me for good vintage images for quite a while. A few of them have already seen this selection and have been really excited about it," he said. "It's different than what everyone else is bringing to them. It has a great decorative appeal. It's great for the female purchaser."

Downes decided to concentrate on publishing older photographs, so they would look vintage. "A lot of contemporary fashion photography is in color, and we wanted to focus on black and white to give it more glamour," he said. "We're feeling pretty good about it."

And who wouldn't be feeling good? In a few short years, fashion photography has proved to the art market it's a viable genre to be taken seriously. As more galleries, museums and fine art publishers recognize its appeal and potential, there will be more opportunities for fashion photographers to end up on white walls, shooting for the stars.