7 Photographs That Changed Fashion!

In todays seminar, to start off our photography inspiration and to get to grips with fashion photography more, we were shown the documentary 'Rankin: Seven photographs that changed fashion'. The documentary explored the impact of photography on fashion. Photographer Rankin has reconstructed seven provocative images by the most influential fashion images of the Twentieth Century including Cecil Beaton's 1934 'Hat Box', and he also takes us on a journey through a brief history of the fashion photograph. . I hadn't seen the documentary before today, but I did know of Rankin, and some of the renowned photographers  he spoke about. I found the documentary really interesting and inspiring and it led me to research some of the photographers more and look in to their work. 
The 7 photographs which Rankin recreated included; an iconic Cecil Beaton image taken in 1934 'Hat Box'; a 1950's Vogue cover by Erwin Blumenfeld; a 1955 image shot by Richard Avedon of 'Dovima with Elephants';a 1963 image of Jean Shrimpton captured by David Bailey; the iconic image of Helmut Newton's, Rue Aubriot, Vogue 1975; Herb Ritts' 'Fred with tyres' taken in 1984 and finally the brash photographer Guy Bourdin, 1970 'Untitled' fashion photograph.

Heidi Klum, Erin O'Connor, Jade Parfitt, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Tuuli Shipster, Mollie Gondhi, Daphne Guinness and David Gandy are the models for Rankin's shoots, while other contributors include David Bailey and Lillian Bassman.

Here is a short clip from one of my favourite recreations of Rankins...

In 1950 Vogue opened the decade with an abstract January cover piece by Erwin Blumenfeld. Model Heidi Klum licks her lips in Rankin's raunchy version of the Vogue cover femme fatale 

In Rankin's interpretation of the 1955 image of elegant Dovima with Elephants, Erin O'Connor stands in for 1950s aristocratic beauty Dovima, who wore the first Dior dress to be designed by Yves Saint-Laurent.

Typically classic and timeless, this 1963 image by David Bailey originally featured Jane Shrimpton. Bailey was present at the shooting of this remake, posed for by Rankin's girlfriend Tuuli.

British supermodel Jade Parfitt makes a wonderfully angular and androgynous Helmut Newton model in this remake, shot in the original Rue Aubriot in the shadow of Newton's Paris studio.

Herb Ritts' original rugged, available mechanic 'Fred with Tires' was more a celebration of muscle and vein than strictly fashion. Nonetheless, Ritts' has almost become a formula for advertising. Model David Gandy poses.

Rankin chose the fashion designer/socialite/model Daphne Guinness to recreate the iconic look of this image, which I felt was quite random as his other 'recreational models' have had some similarities, but for Guinness, I'm not too sure. The set choice really resembles the one from the original, I don't really like though, the use of the red hoisery against the pink back drop, I think it would have worked that little more effectively if the legs were bare. Rankin's image also references in a way, a kinda of raunchy, s&m feel to it, with the leather waistbelt (or top, I can't really make it out) and with the sexy black heels and red tights which I'm not that keen on, but then again this is a strong reference to Guy Bourdin's work. To be honest this image is my least favourite out of the selection, just because of personal aesthetic choices, but it still really works as an image.