My how the world of fashion photography has evolved. When I think of modern high fashion photo shoots, images of eccentric makeup, sparkling models, and electronic music bumping in the background pop into my head. Yes, it’s possible I am stereotyping a little bit, though, judging by the looks of this vintage footage from a 1946 fashion shoot for Vogue American, things are times are definitely changing.
The rare footage was accumulate during late 1946 through early 1947 and is part of the Conde Nast Archive. It consists of outtakes from a documentary titled, Fashion Means Business. The short clip takes us time travelling and invites viewers into the historic Conde Nast / Vogue Studio where Dorian Leigh models for a fashion spread. Iconic fashion photographer Horst P. Horst can be seen photographing the model with a really cool large format camera. Enjoy…
Horst is one of the most celebrated fashion photographers having established himself as an Old Master of photography. Madonna (yes, the pop star) even paid Horst a nod in her hit single “Vogue” where she can be spotted reenacting one of Horst’s most famous photos of a model wearing an unraveling corset and photographed from behind. (If you’re curious, you can watch the music video here. To save yourself the pain of sitting through the whole thing, the Horst reenactment starts at around 4:23.)
