National Portrait Gallery's Vogue 100: A Century of Style
The National Portrait Gallery celebrates a century of Vogue with its latest photography exhibition.
Image: National Portrait Gallery's Vogue: 100 A Century of Style
Today marks the opening of the National Portrait Gallery''s Vogue: 100: A Century of Style exhibition. The exciting exhibition explores the photography, fashion, art and talent nurturing of the influential British fashion magazine.
My first thoughts? The exhibition was beautifully curated. Well done to Robin Muir, Contributing Editor to British Vogue and notable fashion and photography curator; and theatre and opera designer Patrick Kinmouth, the exhibition's Designer and Artistic Director. But as I walked through the to me, it was a visibly white landscape and definitely, highlighted the real need for diversity across the board in fashion. Naomi Campbell is featured a handful of times and if you look really hard, you'll see a small Josephine Baker photograph hidden in the 1920s room. And let's not forget representations of Asian (South and South East) beauty, which were non-existent.
The exhibition celebrates countless leading twentieth-century photographers, like Cecil Beaton, Lee Miller, Irving Penn and Snowden as well as David Bailey Corinne Day Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight, Herb Ritts, Mario Testino, Tim Walker and Albert Watson. As well as featuring the culturally defining faces of Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Marlene Dietrich, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Diana, Fred Astaire and David Beckham, to name a few.
“British Vogue has played a pivotal role in the development of photographic portraiture over the past century, commissioning leading photographers and designers to produce some of the most memorable and influential images in the history of fashion. We are extremely grateful to Alexandra Shulman and her team for giving us unprecedented access to the treasures of the Condé Nast archive and for allowing us to present a panoramic view of this hugely important British institution on a scale that has never been seen before.” said Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Overall, the exhibition is an unmissable and stunning trip through Vogue's past, but I couldn't help but feel a little sadden that it was only a particular vision of beauty and fashion. Reconfirming that true diversity in fashion is unfortunately, still a goal that has not been reached.
Exhibition details
National Portrait Gallery
Vogue: 100: A Century of Style, sponsored by LEON MAX
11 Feb-22 May 2016
Admission charges:
Tickets with donation: adult £19/ concessions £17.50
Standard price: adult £17/concessions £15.50
My edit of the top Thursday night conversations at Late Shift (all talks start at 19:00, £8/7)
3rd March – Vogue 100: Fashion, Women and Society with Cally Blackman, lecturer at CSM
31st March – Vogue 100: British Fashion Today with the Guardian's Fashion Editor Jess Cartner-Morley, designer Henry Holland and stylist Kate Phelan
14th April – Vogue 100: Alexandra Shulman in Conversation with FT's Fashion Editor, Jo Ellison
Click here, to see the full list of event,