"I was looking at strong, powerful works which announced the mature work of these photographers," said exhibition curator Nathalie Herschdorfer. "There is a Helmut Newton style, a David Bailey style, a Peter Lindberg style, a Miles Aldridge style. The works in the show announce the best of these styles. This is a walk through the 20th Century because looking at fashion images shows also the way that the society has changed and evolved. Each image tells a story and invites us to engage with it, but it also encapsulates something of the tastes, the aspirations and the dreams of its time."
Herschdorfer was given access to the international Condé Nast archives, in New York, London, Paris and Milan, from which she chose pictures by 80 leading photographers to include in the exhibition, offering a comprehensive insight into a century of fashion imagery. She credits publisher Condé Nast himself for building the foundations of such an impressive archive, after he scouted Irving Penn, Edward Steichen and William Klien.
"Mr Condé Nast understood that a powerful cover would bring him more readers," said Herschdorfer. "The first Vogue covers are works of art. In the early Twenties, he realised what the photographic medium could bring to his magazines. He was a man of his time and was looking ahead. He wanted to work with people who were talented artists and not necessarily good practicians. The vision of the photographer was recognised as a value, then the photographer was asked to adapt it to the magazine's needs."
Coming Into Fashion: A Century Of Photography at Conde Nast opens June 15 until September 8 at Edinburgh City Art Centre.
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