From Second World War photographs to shoots with famous models such as Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista, British Vogue magazine marks its 100th birthday in 2016 with an exhibition of fashion, beauty and portrait prints.
Opening at Londons National Portrait Gallery on 11 February, Vogue 100: A Century of Style features more than 280 photographs from publisher Conde Nasts archives that the magazine has commissioned over the decades.
It includes the work of renowned photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, David Bailey and Mario Testino, portraits of celebrities including Marlene Dietrich, Britains Princess Diana and David Beckham and shoots with famous models such as Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista.
This was a great opportunity for us to replay Vogues greatest hits, exhibition curator and British Vogue Contributing Editor Robin Muir said. I wanted to have all of these well-known images and balance it perhaps with ones people had not seen before. And one of the guiding principles of the show is that we wanted to show original vintage photographs.
Among the highlights are a rare vision of Horst P Horsts 1939 Mainbocher Corset photo, which inspired the music video for Madonnas Vogue song, and Peter Lindberghs 1990 cover shot that defined the supermodel era, according to organisers.
Vogue has been synonymous with fashion and photography for 100 years. Its the style bible, I mean that old cliché comes into play, Muir said. Its at the forefront and I think people look to Vogue to guide them and I hope it takes its responsibility in that respect seriously and I think it does.
British Vogue was born in 1916 when the First World War halted shipments of American Vogue. Conde Nast then allowed for a British edition of the magazine. Muir added that it was difficult to illustrate the earlier years due to the war.
In 1942 in an economy war time drive – because Vogue was allowed to continue publishing for the morale of the home-front – Vogue decided to pulp its entire archive from 1916 to 1942 as an economy drive to lead the way. So all the Edward Steichens, all the Cecil Beatons, all the Man Rays all the Charles Sheelers, all the great beautiful prints they had Adolph de Meyers – he was the first fashion photographer – all gone. So its taken us about six years to try and track down some other equally fascinating prints he said.
Vogue 100: A Century of Style runs from 11 February to 22 May at Londons National Portrait Gallery.
