Vogue Italia has featured in its August 2010 issue supermodel Kristen McMenamy in a controversial shoot by Steven Meisel inspired by the recent ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
There are several things to be considered here.
First the fact that Vogue is featuring a model such as Kristen, not for the first time in very recent years.
Kristen, a supermodel of the 1980s with a very quirky look, at 46 sports waist length silver/gray hair. She has been seen in fashion shows as well and her look is quite unique in fashion today. I can only applaud the fact that high end fashion is making use of models such as Kristen, I regard it as a positive move which I hope will make it possible for older models to find work without having to feel marginalised because of their age - see yesterday's blog post and the one by Unbearable Lightness on What We Saw Today.
Then there is the actual photoshoot. The images by Meisel are stunning. But the subject matter has left many people wonder whether this is exploitative. This is indeed a difficult one. The images are very sensitively done. McMenamy is cast as a wounded bird coated in oil and spitting up water. I do think that the environmentalist message comes across very strongly, the very fact that the model has natural un-dyed hair makes her look even more vulnerable.
What is jarring is the fact that it is a fashion spread. But this is not in itself something to be seen as problematic. It is not the first time that fashion photography makes a statement. And I do welcome the statement even if the clothes worn by the model are designer clothes and the photoshoot ultimately aims to showcase them and sell them. I am fully aware of it. Yet I look at those images as artistic and I am moved by them. Many blogs have condemned the spread and I can see where they are coming from. I maintain that fashion can make ethical statements, thus I welcome what Vogue Italia has done, and I personally find Kristen McMenamy inspirational.
(All photos by George Swift and modelled by Alex B.)
There are several things to be considered here.
First the fact that Vogue is featuring a model such as Kristen, not for the first time in very recent years.
Kristen, a supermodel of the 1980s with a very quirky look, at 46 sports waist length silver/gray hair. She has been seen in fashion shows as well and her look is quite unique in fashion today. I can only applaud the fact that high end fashion is making use of models such as Kristen, I regard it as a positive move which I hope will make it possible for older models to find work without having to feel marginalised because of their age - see yesterday's blog post and the one by Unbearable Lightness on What We Saw Today.
Then there is the actual photoshoot. The images by Meisel are stunning. But the subject matter has left many people wonder whether this is exploitative. This is indeed a difficult one. The images are very sensitively done. McMenamy is cast as a wounded bird coated in oil and spitting up water. I do think that the environmentalist message comes across very strongly, the very fact that the model has natural un-dyed hair makes her look even more vulnerable.
What is jarring is the fact that it is a fashion spread. But this is not in itself something to be seen as problematic. It is not the first time that fashion photography makes a statement. And I do welcome the statement even if the clothes worn by the model are designer clothes and the photoshoot ultimately aims to showcase them and sell them. I am fully aware of it. Yet I look at those images as artistic and I am moved by them. Many blogs have condemned the spread and I can see where they are coming from. I maintain that fashion can make ethical statements, thus I welcome what Vogue Italia has done, and I personally find Kristen McMenamy inspirational.
(All photos by George Swift and modelled by Alex B.)
While I don't necessarily have a problem with fashion making statements, I've yet to see it done in a way that doesn't seem... silly.
ReplyDeleteClothing isn't an easy medium for communication, and as such, the fashion industry is full of designers who make ridiculous allegorical designs in order to make their statements - and the result is almost always laughable.
I WANT there to be awareness raised about the gulf, and I WANT for fashion to be able to make legitimate statements, but I suppose that fashion is not the way to get a message to me. If this photospread is what it takes to get the message out in the fashion world, then so be it.
It will definitely make people think and discuss and that's a good thing. I personally find that there is at times a very fine line between fashion photography and art photography. Granted, only a few fashion photographers are able to cross that line, but when they do the results are awesome.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I was talking more about the fashion itself than photography of that fashion.
ReplyDeleteI was working from a perspective wherein fashion design is to sculpture as photography is to painting.
I think fashion has a definite role to play in environmental awareness. I have long admired the '80s supermodels who have been photographed naked for animal rights, and some of them have been shot on a runway wearing blood-splattered fur coats. Because of the power of fashion and fashion models, this is a highly effective way to get the message across by turning fashion's beauty into a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link, Alex. It's a tough image, and I agree with the Vogue Italy editor. It is doing the job for which it was intended. The more controversy, the better for the cause, too.
Totally agree. Fashion has a role to play in a great many thing, for one thing people take more notice. And that is what one wants, especially when it comes to the environment.
ReplyDeleteWhen has fashion failed to exploit something in the name of publicity?
ReplyDeleteIf someone who would not have thought about the environment starts because of the feature it's a good thing -- because you KNOW that the people who are all about fashion are GOING to see the clothes no matter WHAT the image is saying.
No I would not be so cynical. There is a good attempt here to draw people's attention to a major disaster. The photos are also very artistic and have a value as art, they are not just fashion shots. If we did not know anything about the clothes we would not even look at them, such is the artistry demonstrated by both photographer and model.
ReplyDeleteTHIS COMMENT WAS SENT BY UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS AND IT WAS REJECTED BY MISTAKE. I AM COPYING IT BELOW WITH APOLOGIES TO UL
ReplyDeleteThe PETA anti-fur fashion campaign with nude super models had a great effect. You don't see many furs in fashion mags or on runways any more. Fashion-conscious women take notice of the causes the super models embrace. It is an excellent way to gain notice for a cause among fashion-conscious women, who are mostly influential women.
I wish I could get my hands on a copy of the magazine. I have seen the images online. They are beautiful and powerful and they make a statement. Why shouldn't fashion photography make a social or political statement? Look at the work of Avedon. It makes one think.
ReplyDeleteStunning pictures indeed. Fashion photography can make very important socio-political statements, it has done so in the past and I feel it does not make much sense to dismiss its power of persuasion.
ReplyDelete