ROXANNE LOWIT'S ALL ABOUT YVES

October 21, 2014

I’ve known photographer Roxanne Lowit for more years than I care to count. She’s been shooting fashion and the New York social scene for decades and save for Patrick McMullen or Bill Cunningham, no one can touch her archive or eye. She’s a no-nonsense charmer and her friendship with the late genius of fashion, Yves Saint Laurent has produced a new book, published by Thames & Hudson. From 1978, when she first met YSL, to the last show he gave in 2002, it represents Lowit’s backstage look at Saint Laurent’s shows: whether surrounded by the top models or peeking out at the catwalk from the wings, every moment was a photo opp. Steven Kasher Gallery opens an exhibit of the work next week. October 29th – November 4th at Steven Kasher‘s new space at 515 West 26th Street New York.

The woman with the eye, a camera and the all-access pass

“Yves Saint Laurent and his Pret a Porter models, Paris”, 1985

Icons of Fashion, Yves Saint Laurent and Diana, Vreeland MET, New York, 1993

“The many shades of beauty” Violetta Sanchez, Gloria Burgess, Mounia and YSL Model, Paris, 1984

“Picasso y Palomas” Katoucha Niane Haute Couture, Paris, 2000

“Sitting Pretty” Kate Moss Haute Couture, Paris, 1993

“Tate a Tete” Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld La Palace 5th Anniversary, Paris, 1993

Et Puis Je Fume, Yves Saint Laurent, ca., 1985

Horst directing a fashion shoot with Lisa Fonssagrives (wife of Irving Penn), 1949. Photo by Roy Stevens

HORST AT THE V&A

September 13, 2014

Last week, the V&A Museum in London launched a retrospective of the work of the legendary photographer Horst P. Horst. (1906-99) In an extraordinary career spanning 60 years, his photographs appeared on the pages of Vogue and House & Garden under the singular byline; “Horst”. He was such a versatile and multifaceted photographer that there are 10 sections in this exhibit; Haute Couture, Surrealism, Stage & Screen, Travel Patterns From Nature, The Studio, Fashion In Color, Living In Style, Nudes and Platinum Prints. SO prolific was he, that even with 400 images in the exhibition, the curators say they could have easily produced five shows of the same size. Every one of his 94 Vogue covers is on view — but his work wasn’t only about fashion. He shot everything from male nudes (several of which have been lent by Elton John and David Furnish) to interior design and gardens, which he began to specialize in under the editorship of Diana Vreeland.

"Fashion is an expression of the times. Elegance is something else again." – Horst, 1984

Horst was part of an artistic, collaborative crowd that in turn fueled his work. He was friends with Schiaparelli and Dalí and the Surrealist movement inspired him to put his own creative spin on simplest jobs. Asked to make an image for a Vogue nail-polish story, for example, he arranged models and mannequins’s hands for a picture that transcends mere illustration. His fashion work represented an creative departure from what had come before, and he could be a source of frustration for editors who just wanted him to show the clothes. I’m very familiar with his photographs, having worked for Vogue, House & Garden and Vanity Fair (we hired him at VF when his third act was in full-swing in the mid 80s), but I’ll admit that the true scope of his career somewhat eluded me. Avedon & Penn are often thought of as THE two primary 20th century magazine photographers, but with this exhibit, Horst is nudging them over to secure a permanent place in the pantheon. The exhibition runs through January 4, 2015 at the V&A.

Muriel Maxwell, Vogue, 1939 (Imagine. This is the year Gone With the Wind & The Wizard of Oz came out) — Muriel Maxwell, Vogue, 1939 (Imagine. This is the year *Gone With the Wind* & The Wizard of Oz came out)

94 of Horst's Vogue covers are on display, like this one from 1941 — 94 of Horst's *Vogue* covers are on display, like this one from 1941

Ask to shoot nail polish for a Vogue story, this surreal image is what Horst produced in 1941 — Ask to shoot nail polish for a *Vogue* story, this surreal image is what Horst produced in 1941

Salvador Dalí’s costumes for Leonid Massine’s ballet Bacchanale, 1939

Baroness Pauline de Rothschild at her apartment in Paris, 1969

View of ruins at the palace of Persepolis, Persia, 1949

Dinner suit and headdress by Schiaparelli, 1947

BAILEY'S STARDUST, HAMILTON'S POP DADA, MATISSE'S CUT-OUTS & ROTHKO'S VOID

May 26, 2014

There is SO much to see and do in London but three of the must-sees are Bailey’s Stardust at the National Portrait Gallery and Matisse’s Cut-Outs and the Richard Hamilton retrospective at The Tate Modern.

Bailey’s Stardust at the National Portrait Gallery
I know I don’t need to tell you who David Bailey is, he’s the Brits answer to Avedon – with a difference. His photographs, as much as anyone, helped visually defined the Swingin’ 60s – especially Britain’s exploding pop culture.

“Irving Penn’s studio is like a cathedral. David Bailey’s studio is like a nightclub.” – Diana Vreeland

He photographed EVERYONE. The Stones. Jack Nicholson. Penelope Tree. David Bowie. Kate Moss. Aboriginals. Damien Hirst. Vivienne Westwood. The Sudan. Man Ray…. and on, and on… The show was curated and by the man himself and it transmits the raw power and energy of his greatest pictures. I still think Avedon is the superior photographer, in a totally different class of his own, but no one can touch the juice and verve of Bailey’s best. They DO feel like they might fly off the gallery walls. It was totally worth seeing – and, if you missed it, the next best thing is to get the book as the show ends June 1, so that’s probably your best bet.

Richard Hamilton at The Tate
The late Richard Hamilton was another British artist that has had much more recognition here that in the states, especially since his death. His retrospective covering 6 decades of work, at The Tate Modern, was a real eye-opener to me. His most famous image, “Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?” from 1956, is considered by many to be THE first pop image (Me, I think it goes back to paint by number, which started in the late 40s but that’s another discussion altogether…) Nevertheless, he went on to create more memorable pop images, including the most famous one that I never knew he did. The Beatles asked him to design a cover for their album in 1968 and his minimalist answer was to emboss only the name of the band on a white sleeve, so, contrary to popular belief, the album was NOT called “The White Album”, is was merely a description of it. His was a fascinating career and body of work which was largely subversive, political and conceptual. I think the reason he never achieved greater status in the states was because he never had ONE recognizable style, he had many. But his SLIP IT TO ME is iconic. Well, he was not forgotten in the dustbin of history, he is remembered and lauded in a show that just closed today.

Richard Hamilton’s “Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?”, 1956

Matisse Cut-Outs at The Tate
The Matisse Cut-Outs, also at The Tate was somewhat unexpected as well. Everyone has seen this work but, as the cliché goes, unless you see them in person, you haven’t seen them at ALL. Of course they reproduce well, and the saturated color is SO pleasing and suited to offset printing, but truly, the scale and masterful technique is hidden from view in print. There were films in the exhibit of Henri at work in that looked more like your grandfather on holiday that one of the greatest artists of the 20th century breaking new ground. But the “drawing with scissors” is like no grandpa ever. He had assistants painting sheets of paper in the MOST beautiful colors and after cutting by the master, they were pinning them to his studio walls. Room after room in The Tate, of larger and larger works culminating in several gigantic murals and finally, “The Snail”. Matisse’s way in to abstraction, which have influenced countless artists. In fact, this is the reason I think it’s now so hard to get the full impact of the work – his cut-outs made have been so widely imitated in art school’s and by magazine and book illustrators for the past 70 years, that they have nearly sucked out all of the life and innovation out the work when reproduced. Almost. Until you see the real deal. Amazing that something so two dimensional has been rendered so full of the joy of life that Matisse transmitted in spades.

Rothko’s Seagrams Murals
The Seagrams Murals by Mark Rothko are probably the MOST opposite you can get from Matisse’s joyful cut-outs. I got to see the fantastic play Red on Broadway several years ago, which tells the story of Rothko’s commission by The Four Seasons restaurant in New York. He was paid something like $300,000 in the late 50s (a FORTUNE, at the time) to create a series of paintings to be hung in the restaurant permanently. He decided that he hated his work ending up in some corporate restaurant for rich people, gave the money back and kept the work. These paintings are on view now in their own gallery, which like the paintings in Rothko Chapel in Houston (where I’m from) are literally a religious experience. It’s terrible to say again that you haven’t seen them until you look at them in person, but it is DOUBLEY true in this instance. If you stand at the right distance from the center of any given painting, you can get lost and fall into them. It’s probably been said before, but to me, he was painting the void over and over again up until the end. And he eventually went INTO that void by his own hand, committing suicide. I never thought of it until now but maybe by painting that void he willed himself into it (like standing on the edge of a roof seems to pull you to the ground). As the mystics say, “You combine with what you vibrate to.” I love looking at them and contemplating the infinite, but I’m staying on this side for now. There’s too much to do…

Michelle Obama cutting the ribbon on The Anna Wintour Costume Center, May 6, 2014

MICHELLE OBAMA & CHARLES JAMES AT THE MET

May 03, 2014

So, you know Monday is The Met Ball. The First Lady, Michelle Obama will cut the ribbon on the newly renovated Anna Wintour Costume Center, although she won’t be attending the Ball Monday night. (This name of the center is somewhat of a scandal on its own as many thought it should named after Diana Vreeland, the woman who put the Costume Institute on the map – but it’s a done deal now. Sorry, DV but Anna raised $125 million bucks – and money talks.)

The latest exhibit, Charles James: Beyond Fashion, which opens next week, will explore the couturier’s sculptural, scientific, and mathematical approaches to construct revolutionary ball gowns and innovative tailoring that continues to influence designers today. After designing in his native London, and then Paris, James arrived in New York City in 1940. Though he had no formal training, he is now regarded as one of the greatest designers in America to have worked in the tradition of the Haute Couture. His fascination with complex cut and seaming led to the creation of key design elements that he updated throughout his career: wrap-over trousers, figure-eight skirts, body-hugging sheaths, ribbon capes and dresses, spiral-cut garments, poufs and all manner of complicated designs that end up looking the most simple and elegant. All of this finery will be on display. Today, this remains the REAL red carpet standard that everyone longs for. It’s sometimes called Hollywood Glamour but it is just pure GLAMOUR. The men attending The Met Ball on Monday night will be a bit challenged to keep up, as they are all required to wear white tie and tails. Look for pictures on social media #CharlesJames. Take a look at some it here.

Mrs. Charles James in a Swan Gown (Yes. He was married)

Babe Paley, 1950, photo by John Rawlings

Hipster Gown, 1946 (that's what it's called)