Photography turns fashion into art

Photography turns fashion into art

Mehru Jaffer, Contributor, Jakarta

Visions 01 is not just an exhibition, but a heady cocktail of
beautiful faces, amazing outfits and some of the most bewildering
of backgrounds.

All this and more can be found in different exhibits composed
by creative photographers, whose work brings to life a new
dimension of the concept of art.

Assembled by curator Frank Perrin, the exhibition has traveled
all the way from Paris, and is proof positive that there is much
more to contemporary fashion photography than merely selling
clothes.

Since fashion is no longer a corporate ghetto, so too has
fashion photography moved on to the point that it has the power
to dictate what clothing should be allowed into the wardrobe.

While photographers in Indonesia, by contrast, lack the
economic clout to create trends, they do enjoy a generous spread
in the media.

According to Firman Ichsan, senior photographer and professor
at the IKJ, Jakarta's school of fine arts, it is the fashion
editors who are the most important here.

Firman, who led a discussion on the same topic, says that an
event like Vision 01 keeps a largely conservative country like
Indonesia connected to all avant-garde movements in other parts
of the world.

Once upon a time, fashion pictures were defined by society
photographs of the rich and the famous. Photos of aristocrats,
actresses and models -- dressed in their own clothes -- seemed to
provide vicarious pleasure to those less fortunate.

The sole purpose of fashion photography in years past was to
sell a product. Today, however, fashions are photographed not
simply as a market commodity, but also as an art form.

With the aid of digital technology, fashion photographers now
use computers and visual art to manipulate pictures to produce
surreal fashion imagery. The most successful ones are those with
a distinctive, personal style who constantly stay in touch with
current trends.

To Baron Adolphe de Meyer has the distinction of being the
first fashion photographer.

He was hired in 1913 to take experimental photos for Vogue,
which published its first issue back in 1892. Vogue, the first
illustrated fashion magazine, was the medium through which
fashion photography developed. Charles Worth is said to be the
very first couturier to have dreamt up the idea of using live
models to show off his creations.

Fashion was revolutionized by the invention of the sewing
machine, which allowed common people dress up, too.

This gave birth to couturiers who, at first, did not trust the
photographers. At that time, exclusivity was viewed as far more
important than publicity.

While couture remained the domain of the blue bloods, fashion
was fast filtering down to the folks and Harpers Bazaar joined
Vogue magazine in encouraging creativity amongst fashion
photographers.

Some were influenced by Surrealism art, and provided a fusion
of contemporary art trends with fashion.

Fashion photography came to a standstill during the occupation
of France in World War II. At that point, it spread across the
Atlantic ocean to the U.S.

Here, the formal look of fashion was exchanged for the
youthful American look. Clothes that were practical and
comfortable were cherished most.

To celebrate the end of war, Irvin Penn bedazzled the fashion
world with exclusive images of the Christian Dior designs that
soon became a symbol of postwar glamour and prosperity.

After years of deprivation, the 1950s spawned the ready to
wear market.

Fashions from Paris were communicated to people in magazines
like Vogue, and photographers like Clifford Coffin were assigned
to cover the Paris Collections.

Models had already replaced drawings, and were treated like
celebrities. Live fashion shows gave birth to the catwalk for
photographers.

And, as the public appetite for fashion grew, it became easier
than ever to elevate the status of the fashion photographer to
the realm of royalty.

The exhibition mounted most imaginatively on walls erected
from barbed wire patterns remains open till March 15 at the
Textile Museum, Jalan K.S. Tubun, Jakarta west.