My chosen Image

Photographer - Helmut Newton
Nationality - German
Photography genre - Fashion/Portraiture

Image title - French ''Vogue'', Paris 1975
Image taken - In Rue Abriots, Paris 1975
Purpose - French Vogue 1975

http://www.designboom.com/history/helmutnewton.html - ‘With the aim of freeing women from the trappings of feminine, frilly dresses, he caused an almighty scandal’.

In my chosen Image a female model is stood centre frame turned slightly to her left. She is wearing a masculine suit with her left hand in her pocket and her right hand holding a cigarette. She is looking down at the pavement out of the frame with tied back hair. The model is located on the street of ‘Rue Abriots’ in Paris. On either side of the subject there are attached buildings down the street with lamps also. A lamp just in front of her which isn’t in shot is acting as a light source on the model.

During the late 20th century women of the world’s cultures were fighting against the government for their rights to gain equality to men and have their vote in politics. This conspiracy for women to gain more power caused many rivalries due to the countless protests. German fashion photographer Helmut Newton found his agenda had always been fascinated playing with masculinity and femininity. His work became very popular during the late 20th century as his photographic meanings were identical to the movement of women in world politics. My chosen image was taken for a magazine in Rue Abriots, Paris for ‘French Vogue 1975’; he had shot his female model expressing a masculine form within her female body using fashion to force a strong narrative into the frame.

Newton was quoted by photography encyclopedia as a ‘fashion photographer whose vision of an aggressively confident and predatory form of female sexuality dominated the last third of the 20th century’. With the movement in women’s politics this allowed the fashion industry to feed off the world’s environment as a source for inspiration. With this great inspiration that had become available to Helmut Newton, his 1975 ‘French Vogue’ shot was said that he captured an image that had changed fashion.

The late 20th century of Newton’s work was said to be the pinnacle of his urban erotic style. The impact that fled from his photograph in the streets of Paris for vogue 1975 had moved fashion in a direction of new styles and influences and we can therefore question whether fashion would be the same today without his input.