If you are in New York, visit The International Center of Photography for a fantastic exhibit of vintage fashion photographs by Edward Steichen during his Condé Nast years, 1923-1937.
Steichen's approach to fashion photography was formative and over the course of his career he changed public perceptions of the American woman. Steichen's crisp, detailed, high-key style revolutionized fashion photography, and his influence is felt in the field to this day.
Initially, his peers in the art community thought he was damaging the hard-fought respectability of their work. Nevertheless, Steichen’s inspired approach to fashion photography revolutionized the field by changing the soft-focus image of the fashionable woman from a distant romantic creature, to that of a much more direct and independent individual.
The International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd StreetNew York, New York. Until May 3.
Model Marion Morehouse and unidentified model wearing dresses by Vionnet, 1930
Courtesy Condé Nast Archive
Evening shoes by Vida Moore, 1927
Courtesy Condé Nast Archive, New York
Actor Gary Cooper, 1930
Model Marion Morehouse in a bouffant dress and actress Helen Lyons in a long sleeve dress by Kargère, 1926
