Saul Leiter: Fashion Photography

Last weekend I happened to be back down in London and decided to take a look at the new exhibition on Saul Leiter at the Photographer's Gallery. I initially heard about it via the blog That's Not My Age - one of my absolute favourites - and she described Saul Leiter's work as being one of the main inspirations behind the cinematography of the film Carol. Of course, I was sold! I loved the muted colours found in Carol, the coral lipstick and camels coats, and was intrigued by this photographer that I had never heard of.

Although Leiter moved to New York in the 1940s intent on becoming a painter, his fascination with colour led him to explore the possibilities of colour photography using Kodachrome film. His photographs still retain a painterly quality – I  love the shot of a young woman in a pea green coat (below) - and he even experimented with using paint on actual photographs.

He began to take on commissions for fashion photography, and many of his images can be found within the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. One of my favourite images is of two young sisters looking out a window both wearing matching jumpers, one holding a cat (see below). I love their expressions and how he captured that sense of boredom and a sisterly relationship – all in the context of a fashion shoot – something that seems so rare nowadays.

The exhibition is brilliantly put together and is littered with quotes from the man himself. One of my favourites is "It is not where it is or what it is that matters, but how you see it." His snapshots of New York; of train carriages, fire escapes, and through shop windows capture the city perfectly. I love this quote in that it is applicable to writing, photography, art, whatever it is you do – use what is there in front of you.

What great inspiration for a rainy winter’s day!

I also wanted to mention how lovely the photographer’s gallery was. It’s hidden away behind Oxford Street and is  a little oasis of calm amidst all the bustle. Thank you Alyson for your wonderful blog post and providing me with some much needed inspiration!

Liberty in Fashion

The new exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum combines two of my favourite things: fashion and florals. Liberty In Fashion charts the history of the famous London shopping destination and the impact the brand and its designers had on British fashion. At the grand age of 140, Liberty has seen many changes in fashion and design but has maintained its place as an iconic institution, pioneering beautiful prints and bohemian designs.

The exhibition itself is a treasure-trove of ditsy prints, intricate embroidery and bright colours. It starts with the company's early days when it was set up by Arthur Liberty as a warehouse supplying fashionable goods and textiles from the Far East in the 1870s. Liberty then moved into creating beautiful embellished gowns, befitting the wardrobe of a Downton debutante, as shown in the image of the delicate ivory capelet below.

The beginning of the 20th century saw Liberty embrace the idea of 'Aesthetic Dressing'. Long, flowing kimonos inspired by japanese paintings became sought after lounge wear for the bohemian woman. Liberty began to not only look to the East for inspiration but started to reinterpret the farm labourer's staple - the smock - for modern women. Smocks were loose, comfortable garments which carried with them an air of nostalgia for a rustic and rural life, but also hinted at the wearer's artistic temperament as the perfect outfit for painting and writing. I particularly loved this embroidered smock below, with it's palette of green purple and white echoing that of the Suffragettes' uniform.

The fashion for smocks also extended to childrenswear and both boys and girls wear dressed in these smart but loose-fitting tunics. Children's author Kate Greenaway's illustrations, which revisited the clothing styles of the 1880s and 90s became inspiration for Liberty's childrenswear. I found it fascinating that imagined dress from storybooks could lead to real-life changes in children's clothing and remember the vogue for this as a nineties child dressed head to toe in Laura Ashley floral smock dresses!

Perhaps what Liberty is most associated with is it's iconic ditsy florals. These rose to fame in the interwar years of the 1920s and 30s when small prints on dark backgrounds of black or brown where popular. The lighter, more optimistic blues and pinks were favoured in the 1940s and were often made into pretty tea dresses (see below). Just looking at these gorgeous war-time outfits, with their nipped-in silhouettes and bakelite belts cheered me up. You can see where Cath Kidston get some of their nostalgic print ideas from. 

Although Liberty reluctantly (to begin with) veered into more outlandish and vibrant prints in the 60s and 70s, when many of their prints were designed by the fabulous duo Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell, they returned to their trademark bohemian look in the 70s, with their floaty and romantic dresses (below). The smock dress made a triumphant return and prints were produced in beautiful muted browns and mauves. I loved the patchwork pinafores - they looked so practical and easy to wear.

Although I am probably biased, being already obsessed with prints and florals, I loved this exhibition of Liberty London. It was wonderful to learn about the shop's history, from its origins transporting textiles from across the world, to the work of its creative printmakers and design talents. Liberty will always hold a sense of nostalgia for me, but it was fascinating to see how often the brand has borrowed from the past to create something refreshing that echoes current fashions. Never more have I desired a few metres of Tana Lawn to make a ditsy print dress!

Let me know if you've been to the exhibition and what you thought of it - I'd love to know!

Liberty in Fashion is currently on at the Fashion Museum until 28th February 2016.

100 years of Fashion Illustration

What is it about fashion illustration that makes my heart leap? There's something about it that I find just captures the essence of fashion, breathing life into clothes so perfectly, perhaps even more than photography. 100 Years of Fashion Illustration by Cally Blackman documents the changes in fashion illustration, from the thin art deco lines of the 1920s, to  the computer-led graphics of the noughties. What I love about these images is their ability to conjure up the entire feeling of the era in which they were published. Take Barbara Hulanicki's Biba girls; their oversized lollipop frames and doll-like eyes just scream the 60s. Whilst Celia Birtwell's drawings (below) have that unbounded sense of freedom and effervescence, like two Chagall figures gliding off into the night.

The book shows just how central illustration was to the fashion industry. These images were found on magazine covers, on dress patterns, in advertorials and on billboards. Fashion illustration dictated what what women should aspire to, it captured the whole feeling of the new season. Flicking through these pages, it seems that it was not merely the clothing that represented how women should spend their money, but the girl on page. She is often hidden under hats, glancing away, or completely absorbed by the letter or book she's reading. In short, these women, rather than staring out blankly from glossy magazine spreads, are shown to live their lives in these new fashions, whilst we are left to imagine the exciting goings-on in their lives.

My growing obsession for Mad Men has made me appreciate fashion illustration even more. Once considered to be simply adverts for products, many images of fashion illustration are now admired as museum-worthy works of art. Some of my favourites include Rene Grau who is known to have inspired David Downton, as well as Barbara Hulanicki's illustrations for her Biba designs.

Will the heyday of fashion illustration return? I really hope so! Instagram seems to be the best place for searching out talented illustrators who hark back to those good old days but are also creating something new and exciting. Some of my favourites working at the moment are: Kelly Marie Beeman, Drawing Feever and Unskilled Worker. Let me know any illustrators you are following at the moment, I would love to discover more. 

Have a great Sunday! Xx

Illustration credits: (1) Bill Baker, 1966 (2) Celia Birtwell, 1970 (3) Marcel Vertes, 1940 (4) Rene Gruau, 1967 (5) Tod Draz, 1950 (6) Alfredo Bouret, 1957 (7) Rene Gruau, 1954.

Poetry in motion: Sonia Delaunay

Summer exhibitions at the Tate are always a treat, but I wasn't quite prepared for just how inspiring the Sonia Delaunay exhibition would be. To be quite honest, I hadn't previously heard much about her as an artist, but I decided to go in with an open mind, and I'm so glad I did.

On entering the first room, we were welcomed by Delaunay's incredible paintings. Each painting is divided into segments of vivid colours which fit together to create a whole. We learnt that Delaunay was heavily inspired by music and dance and was part of what was known as simultanism: a group of artists inspired by different art forms coming together. One of my favourite paintings was the image below of a young girl lying across a couch. I love Delaunay's focus on women as pensive and introspective, completely absorbed in their own worlds. Look closely and the young girl is made up of a range of hues, from sickly greens and yellows to bright reds, colour combinations that seem so unusual, but create such an otherworldly atmosphere.

What I found so wonderful about Sonia Delaunay as an artist was the sheer extent of her creative output. I found it incredibly inspiring that an artist explored so many different mediums so effectively to create her own complete world that was so distinctively hers. For a female artist at that time to have such creative freedom over every aspect of her work is inspiring and motivating, even today.

Aside from her work in abstract art and portraiture, Delaunay was also a successful fashion and textiles designer, creating dresses, shoes and beachwear, as well as working on textile commissions for department stores such as Liberty (see images below). Although part of a set of Parisian bohemians, she was not averse to more commercial enterprises, and fashioned designs for the forward-thinking modern women to wear. Delaunay is also known for her work on the costumes for the 1918 Ballet Russes production of Cleopatra, which were also on display. It was wonderful to see these pieces of ballet history, still intact nearly 100 years later.

Sonia Delaunay was also fascinated by the relationship between clothing and literature. Her idea for a 'poem dress' is something I found absolutely incredible. Delaunay collaborated with some of her poet friends to create dresses embellished with poetry, created movable figments of art. She also worked on a short story which she designed to be printed onto a long scarf so that with each fold, a new chapter could be read in small fragments. I completely fell in love with this idea of clothing and fiction complimenting each other and forming part of the same piece of art. I wish more designers would employ some poetry into their work.

My experience of Sonia Delaunay at the Tate was such an overwhelming but inspiring one. Delaunay was such a powerhouse of creativity and I defy anyone to not become motivated and filled with new ideas when visiting her work. I'd love to know what you thought of the exhibition if you managed to make it? Have a lovely weekend! Xx

Great British Drawings

As I write this post, it's one of those typical moody, rainy days in Oxford where all I want to do is hide away and drink many cups of peppermint tea. But days like these are also perfect for whiling away a few hours in a museum or gallery and taking in a little culture!

I've been attempting to visit more local museums over the last few weeks, and decided to start with the beautiful Ashmolean. The Ashmolean belongs to the University of Oxford and is the world's first university museums. It all started with a cabinet of curiosities and now houses objects and artefacts spanning thousands of years.

Their main exhibition at the moment is Great British Drawings, a display of over 100 drawings by Britain's greatest artists including Turner, Rossetti, Millais, Ruskin, Hockney and Ravilious. Although my knowledge of fine art is very limited, I loved just walking around the gallery and taking it all in. I was most excited to see some of the Pre-Raphelite drawings, especially the image of Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (featured on the leaflet above), which shows the gorgeous red headed ideal of Victorian beauty. 

Another favourite of mine was the small drawing of a rabbit by Edward Lear which forms part of his famous Nonsense Book of Poetry, and would lovely framed up on a wall. I also enjoyed seeing some more modern pieces by the likes of David Hockney and the wonderful Eric Ravilious's drawings of the Sussex countryside. 

The Ashmolean is one of those places where you can simply wander around with a pencil and sketchbook and feel incredibly inspired. I'm trying to make more time for sketching and drawing and whilst my attempts will never make it beyond my ratty old notebook, a little bit of calm and creativity woven into daily life never goes amiss.

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

Love Is Enough

So this past week has been a busy one as I have relocated to Oxford for a new job! Everything has been very full on but I thought I should do a bit of exploring this weekend. I am very new to the city having only visited perhaps once before, so I have a lot of navigating and discovering to do!

This weekend I went to the Modern Art Oxford gallery. They have an exhibition on called Love is Enough which showcases the work of both William Morris and Andy Warhol. I've always been fascinated by both artists, although I've never thought of putting the two together. Seeing William Morris tapestries alongside Elizabeth Taylor in techni-colour pop art was a bit of a culture clash, but the reading material which accompanied the display explains a little of the reasoning behind them being brought together.

Both artists were printmakers with very organic ways of working, with Warhol experimenting with colour, and Morris looking to science, botany and wildlife for his inspiration. Morris and Warhol were also both influenced by a sense of fantasy and mythology. William Morris created several images inspired by Camelot and King Arthur, recreating the glamour and iconography in his stained glass windows and pictures of knights in shining armour. Andy Warhol's obsession with celebrity is also documented. His most famous series of prints, featuring stars such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, started out from correspondence as a child, where he would ask for their picture, and keep them all in a scrapbook.

The display also shows a connection between print making and publication, which both artists shared. Warhol started Interview magazine (still going strong today) which injected a new sense of style and glamour into a fashion mag, with unscripted celebrity interviews  as well as his own prints and illustrations. Morris used print as part of his socialist ideals and a means of uniting and gathering together like-minded people.

What's certain is that both artists had an idea of democratising art, be it through Morris' desire to allow all households to own something either 'useful or beautiful', or through Warhol's popularisation of art prints as something more mass market. As the exhibition booklet summarises "they wrote, published and, in their embrace of commercial and fine art, had influence far beyond the art world".

I really enjoyed  this little venture out into the city but I'm still not sure whether Andy Warhol and William Morris are a match made in heaven or just a complete culture clash - let me know what you think!

Either way, I hope to continue exploring Oxford and documenting just a little of what the city has to offer.