Fashion photography's A-list turns the lens inward at The Photographers' Gallery

Sooo... Soho-bound for a splash of musical theatre (Jersey Boys - who knew how prolific Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were? 5 stars etc) spotted the mill of a private view around the entrance to The Photographers' Gallery. Took it as the sign that fashion snappery exhibition - Fashion in the Mirror: Self-Reflection in Fashion Photography - which kicks off tomorrow, was in celebration mode. Obviously I had other fish to fry yesterday evening, but it it definitely high on the list as a must-do cultural experience, especially given the exhaustive (exhausting?!?) list of fashion's favourites on the roll call.
I haven't checked it out quite yet, so at this stage this is all based on hearsay (verdict and pics will be returned in near future), but it's a curated exhibition of the lens being turned on a selection of eminent snappers de la mode, turning the camera back through its own lens to convey the image-makers and the processes around the production of the final, glossy image. The who's who includes 20+ international and agenda-setting names, from the old school - Helmut Newton, Harri Peccinotti (he of the original and best Sunday Times mag of the 70s if my theory classes serve me right), Norman Parkinson, Irving Penn to name a few - to the current - Nick Knight, Mario Testino, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, and Tim Walker (who has a solo London show on right now, I believe) among others.
How much these guys - and yes, bar one, they're all guys (would one or two more women - Corinne Day, Sarah Moon - have hurt?) - would actually tear apart their persona and their environment I'm not sure, as they are astute creators well aware of the power of the photographic image and - I would imagine - would want to ensure that their authoritative position remains intact. That said, it will be interesting to see the work of such prominent photographers grouped together - to see the parallels, the lineage, the relationships between styles and attitudes. Will be checking it out before it closes on September 14, for sure...

Barbican stages The House of Viktor & Rolf

I have just checked out The House of Viktor & Rolf exhibition at the Barbican, which opens tomorrow and runs til September 21. The fashion-meets-art Dutch duo were present, and will no doubt be presiding over a fabulous affair at tonight's private view, which I couldn't blag my way into - waah! These guys always make the headlines for their show-stopping looks, and what this showcase really brought home was how much went into each of these looks, but also how much of it was, ultimately, commercially viable and exciting, wearable fashion.
The two floor exhibition (I nearly missed the second floor!) delves into the past 15 years of the designers' work, from 1996's Launch, a scaled-down workshop, catwalk show and photoshoot and shop, isnpired by the atelier dolls of the post WW2 period (you may have seen at the V&A's Age of Couture?) and fake concept perfume, via the 2004 pink and black, be-ribboned and bows collection which promoted Flowerbomb, their first fragrance, through to the most recent catwalk extravaganzas. For any fashion fans, this is absolutely unmissable - I loved it.
A focal point of the exhibition is a six metre high dolls' house which reminded me of the royal dolls' houses in the RijksMuseum in Amsterdam (and thinking about it that is probably were they were inspired, given they are Dutch!) - each room was inhabited by porcelain dolls in the Victorian style, with glass eyes and real hair styled by a hairdresser, each wearing a miniature version of one of the Viktor & Rolf designs. Some were arranged in tableaux, such as the Flowerbomb collection on ladders a la the famous Dior models portrait of 1957, and The Fashion Show models, with their personal catwalk rigging. Have you read the Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aitken? Let's just say that this house brought part of that story to life - it's more or less the ultimate dolls house for the spoilt little rich girl.
Other than the dolls' house, a mixture of installation and life-sized mannequins with doll heads were used to display the actual garments, usually accompanied by a film of the associated catwalk shows; this included Maggie Rizer in the Russian Doll collection, still on arotating stand, like a music box ballerina, being dressed, layer after layer, from a hessian and gilt slip through to a padded cape which obliterated her form. I was transfixed by a film of a collection inspired by Yves Klein blue, in which increasing amounts of the blue screen blue were incorporated into outfits, and images - snowscapes, city ringroads, coral reefs - projected onto the models' bodies.
I could wax lyrical about the exhibition all day, but I won't, instead I urge you to sample it for yourself - this is the first UK exhibition from Viktor & Rolf and is a perfect opportunity to ensure that you have mastered all the basics of their approach and are ready for whatever they throw at us next.