Between 1900 and 1969 fashion photography underwent enormous changes. Unique archive material from Palais Galliera, the fashion museum of Paris, is being shown to the public for the first time ever in order to illustrate this remarkable story. This exhibition not only shows the move from studio photography to outdoor shoots, but also developments in photography itself, the position of women, tourism, and prêt-à-porter fashion.

A unique Parisian fashion archive comes to Amsterdam‍

At Huis Marseille’s invitation, a selection of vintage fashion photography from the Palais Galliera Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris will be shown in Amsterdam in the winter of 2019. The exhibition will display unique photographs and magazines that are normally kept deep in the archives of the French fashion institute. The selection was made by Sylvie Lécallier, Head of the photography collection at Palais Galliera. The historical development of fashion photography, from studio settings to outdoor shoots, is a story of emancipation and liberation, both in visual and geographical terms.

The exhibition shows how over the years women’s bodies gained increasing freedom – starting from static poses, shrouded in long gowns, and moving to sports activities, sunbathing, or simply laughing and walking down the street. Over the same period photography moved from black and white to colour, and the range of places where these photographs were made expanded enormously due to the advent of worldwide tourism.