'Seven Photographs That Changed Fashion’ is a documentary by a photographer called Rankin who was recreating his favourite images with his own style. Rankin took us through the history of fashion with 7 artists he felt changed the fashion industry, the artists Rankin used were Cecil Beaton, Erwin Blumenfeld, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Guy Bordin and Herb Ritts.
The first image that Rankin recreated was a take on Cecil Beaton's 'White panama hat' taken for Vogue in 1934 with model Elsa Schiaparelli. Rankin recreated this image with artist/model Sophie Ellis-Bexter using a digital camera instead of 10x8 camera (which shows the image upside down). I think by doing this it gives a very different feel to the image, one of the main factors being that Rankin has introduced colour, so it does not feel so traditional and classic. However, I think Rankin has done a good job on recreating the image with a modern twist, e.g. with the use of the hat and veil, but overall you are able to tell that the 2 images are definitely related.
These images are actually my favourite images used throughout the programme.
The original image was for a Vogue Cover in 1950’s with Jean Patchett, taken by Erwin Blumenfeld. At the time, the image would of taken a lot of time and effort to create because technology was no where near as advanced as it is now. Surprisingly, the image was actually taken in black and white, and then the colour was edited in afterwards (even though this image was iconic for the use of colour at the time). Blumenfeld erased the majority of the image leaving minimal details such as the eye, eyebrow, lips and beauty spot.
Rankin got Heidi Klum to recreate the image, and definitely modernises the image by allowing her cheeky personality to come through by the use of her tongue - I think this actually works very well and adds to the image. Rankin also keeps the models nose and and adjusts the colours slightly, which again changes the image in comparison to the original. I actually prefer the pose and composition of Rankin's interpretation, but I prefer the use of the eye colours which are used in the original because I feel the are more vibrant and make the image 'pop'. I loved the fact that Rankin said "the image should not work, but it just does" - I totally agree with this, because technically there is not much to look at, but yet it is so unique and different it still appears very eye-catching and unique.
This Image (Dovima with Elephants) with Dorothy Horan by Richard Avedon in 1955 was recreated by Rankin using Erin O’Conner. Comparing the two images, I like how Rankin’s picture is bold and as Erin has a nice pale complexion, it makes her stand out more within the image. As modelling changes along the years you can see that in the original Dovimas body is more relaxed and its extremely elegant looking were as Rankin’s version Erin is sharp and more rigid. I feel both of the photographs work but with this particular image I prefer the original as it looks like Dovima was just caught in a moment, rather than actually posing for a picture. Furthermore, even the elephants give a different feel to the picture; the elephants in the original are distressed and look as though they are struggling to be free from the chains and it looks as if Dovima is almost naturally soothing them, whereas in the recreated one the elephants are not distressed at all and it appears to be the other way round - Erin looks less comfortable and the elephants look quite content.
The original image with Jean Shrimpton (who was one of Bailey’s previous lovers) is a beautiful picture taken in the 1960’s by David Bailey. The image is quite seductive; it shows Jean's feminine physique and her features extremely well, e.g. her jaw line is very apparent and everything looks perfectly placed. Rankin recreated his interpretation with his girlfriend Tuuli. The recreated version is still a lovely photo with the lighting and modernised look but I definitely prefer the original image, for a number of reasons, e.g. the lighting, the model herself, the clothing and the position of the model.
I think that Rankin did a very good job in recreating this image by Helmut Newton - I especially like the fact that he travelled to France to go to the exact same spot and the modern twist/key difference is that there are now bollards at the side of the street.
I feel Rankin changed this image more so than he has done with the rest of the images that he recreated. I feel like he made in into more of a fashion image, which the choice of clothing for the model, and the attributes of the model in his and Guy Bordin's image are very different. I also feel that the lighting appears quite different, e.g. in Bordin's image the reflection of the light is in a very small area of space but is quite bright, whereas Rankin has spread a less concentrated source of light over the background.
'Fred with tyres' was created by Herb Ritts in 1984. This image works very well and I think that Rankin has done a good job with recreating this image - the photo makes the model look quite at ease and natural. But I did actually find it interesting how Rankin said he felt less comfortable working with male models and felt that for this reason, his image may not be as successful, but I think that they actually both work very well.
Overall, I found the programme quite interesting and it was intriguing to see a journey of how the fashion photography industry has ended up where it is today...
Reference: http://laurynblackrosebarford.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/photography-seven-photographs-that-changed-fashion/
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