British Vogue fetes 100 years with photo exhibition

From Second World War pictures to shoots with well-known models, British Vogue magazine marks its 100th birthday this year having an exhibit of beauty, fashion and portrait prints.

It provides the work of renowned photographers such as David Bailey, Irwing Penn, Cecil Beaton and Mario Testino, portraits of celebrities including Marlene Dietrich, David Beckham and Britain’s Princess Diana and shoots with well-known models such as Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista.

“This … was a fantastic chance for all of us to replay Vogue’s greatest hits,” exhibit curator and British Vogue Providing Editor Robin Muir told Reuters.

“… Balance it possibly with ones folks had not seen before and I wanted to have all of these images that were somewhat recognized. Plus one of the guiding principles of the show is the fact that we wanted to reveal authentic classic pictures.”

One of the highlights are “a rare vision” of Horst P. Horst’s 1939 Mainbocher Corset picture, which inspired the music video for Madonna’s “Vogue” tune and Peter Lindbergh’s 1990 cover shot “that explained the supermodel era”, according to organizers.

“It is the style bible, I mean that old cliche comes into play.”

British Vogue was born in 1916 when World War I halted shipments of American Vogue. Conde Nast afterward allowed to get a British edition of the magazine.

“Vogue 100: A Century of Style” runs from Feb. 11 to May 22.