He developed close relationships with model-muses Twiggy, Veruschka, Penelope Tree and Jean Shrimpton, building a creative trust that allowed him to focus intensely on certain aspects of their face or physique, while also nurturing their playfulness and natural allure.
What remained constant however was an overwhelming sense of his subject’s humanity. An image defined by striking visual and thematic contrasts between beauty and bestiality, Dovima with elephants is still considered one of the most extraordinary fashion photographs of all time.Ĭapturing a more socially liberated female identity throughout the ’70s and ’80s, Avedon’s fashion photographs evolved to focus more on ‘moments’ instead of narrative scenes. In 1955 Avedon shot Dovima in a Dior gown posed between two elephants at Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver, taking fashion photography out of the studio in a way that had rarely been done before.
The intimate bonds he formed with these women enabled the creation of spectacular photographs. His lens celebrated the alluring and exuberant energy of his subjects, which included American supermodels Carmen Dell’Orefice and Dovima.
Through this style Avedon revealed an emotional side to a model’s personality that was often hidden on the catwalk. Richard Avedon, Self-portrait, Provo, Utah, August 20, 1980. They resonated with a public audience far beyond the fashion sphere. Many of these editorial scenes were shot for Harper’s BAZAAR US throughout the ’50s and ’60s, and they were among the first fashion images that engaged viewers in a ‘human’ dialogue based on imagination and creativity. He shot models as though they were actresses, glamorous and full of emotion, casting them in a cinematographic light with elaborate sets and props. The creative trust Avedon built with his subjects ensured they not only felt comfortable behind his lens, but ultimately more human, with many of them becoming lifelong friends and collaborators.Īvedon’s early fashion images were decadent, narrative-based scenes that captured far more than a model’s clothes. An exhibition at Milan’s Palazzo Reale – Richard Avedon Relationships - showcases the fashion photographs that defined Avedon’s six-plus decade career, images that endure in fashion’s visual cannon as hallmarks of an era. His photographs were, and still are, records of the beauty, allure and power of the human experience. The man many call a ‘creative genius’ of the 20 th century didn’t simply compose portraits. Almost never by ideas,” said Richard Avedon. Richard Avedon, Dovima with elephants, evening dress by Dior, Cirque d’Hiver, Paris, August © The Richard Avedon Foundation
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