German Fashion Photography 1945-1995

The Spirit of the Times Takes Shape

An exhibition of German Fashion Photography spanning the years 1945-1995, organized by the IFA in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, will be on view at the Milli Reasürans Art Gallery from November 5-30, 2002.

A total of 188 photographs, selected by exhibition curators F.C. Gundlach and Rene Block from 39 photographers for this "journey" through 50 years of fashion photography, are featured in the exhibition.

An exhibition of German Fashion Photography spanning the years 1945-1995, organized by the IFA in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, will be on view at the Milli Reasürans Art Gallery from November 5-30, 2002.

The works of prominent photographers who played a role in the fashion world of Germany during the fifty years following World War II are brought together in one exhibition. A book about the exhibition has been published in English and German.

The photographs in the exhibition, the language of the various photographers, the models, their poses, the clothing, accessories, and the technical quality of the photographs, not only reflect the fashion trends of the period but also transcend them, providing intriguing insights into the worldview of the period, changes in society, moral values, people's feelings and aspirations, and the increasingly international character of fashion images beginning in the 1945s.

Gundlach and Block have included works by photographers from the pre-war generation who have achieved international fame, such as Hubs Flöter, Norbert Leonard, Willy Maywald, Will McBride, Helmut Newton, Jacques Schumacher, and Herbert Tobias. Among female photographers of the same generation, the exhibition includes pioneering figures in this field, such as Charlotte Rohrbach, who took the first fashion photograph for "Die Dame" magazine in 1934, Regina Relang, who became a contract fashion photographer for "Vogue" magazine in 1938, as well as photographs by Wolfgang Tillmans, a young photographer who won the Turner Prize in 2001.

Almost all of Gundlach and Block's selections from the post-war generation are internationally renowned photographers. Among them are Christian von Alvensleben, Jo van den Berg, Sibylle Bergemann, Chico Bialas, Herbert Brehm, Uwe Düttmann, Beate Hansen, Hans Hansen, Peter Hönnemann, Rainer Leitzgen, Tom Jacobi, Peter Lindbergh, Olaf Martens, Ute Mahler, André Rau, Uwe Ommer, Ivo von Renner, Robin, Ulrike Schamoni, Thomas Rusch, Jürgen Teller, Gerhard Vormwald, Horst Wackerbarth, Ellen von Unwerth, and Claus Wickrath.

Gundlach explains that the connotations of the exhibition title are not limited to German photographers historically or geographically, but also encompass foreign and immigrant photographers who have contributed to fashion and German lifestyle trends. He explains that the photographer's national identity and the location of the photo were not a factor in the selection. He explains that Gundlach's selection was influenced by the pictorial language and content of each image, and that he sought to distinguish between innovative and contemporary images. He cites photographs that, through the presentation of a new face, help reveal a new type of woman as an example of this view.

Gundlach states that fashion photographs, while undertaking the noble task of recording a fashion designer's detailed creation, reject photographic ideals. He states that the exhibition documents the development of international fashion photography after the 1945s.

The exhibition book also includes Klaus Honnef's article "German Reflection in Fashion Photography," which examines the relationship between the fashion world and photography in Germany after World War II, and Enno Kaufhold's article "A Cultural and Historical Observation on the Internationalization of Fashion Photography."

The exhibition "German Fashion Photographs 1945-1995," which offers a rich perspective on 50 years of German fashion photography, can be viewed at the Milli Reasürans Art Gallery from November 5-30, 2002.