Irving Penn at the MEP

PENN & FASHION

The exhibition unfolds chronologically, retracing Irving Penn’s career from 1947 to 2008. It begins in the 1950s, with the presentation of his legendary photographs of Parisian haute couture collections such as those of Dior and Balenciaga, brought to life by the era’s greatest models, including Lisa Fonssagrives and Jean Patchett. In the 1970s, the creations of Ungaro and Courrèges and the extravagant outfits worn by Marisa Berenson or Lauren Hutton caught the photographer’s eye, followed by those of Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld in the following decade.

The exhibition also presents Penn’s unique collaboration with the Japanese designer Issey Miyake, whose sculptural garments perfectly complemented his minimalist photographic style.

Throughout the last three decades of his career, Penn maintained a consistent approach with an emphasis on the silhouette, volume, and texture.

He captured in colour the sumptuous gowns designed by John Galliano and the opulent creations of Christian Lacroix, as well as Chanel’s spectacular feather headpieces, in breathtaking images.

Finally, his striking images for the beauty pages of Vogue magazine in the 1990s and 2000s bear witness to the creativity and modernity of an artist whose work is yet to be explored in full.

Always faithful to a demanding artistic vision, regardless of the context of the commission, Penn helped to bring art, fashion, and commerce together with unparalleled mastery. His work is characterised by an aesthetic of elegant simplicity. Each image is the result of a long process of reflection, culminating in timeless compositions created using sophisticated printing techniques, many of which have become icons in the history of photography.

The exhibition is drawn primarily from the collections of the MEP and that of Nicola Erni. Assembled over the last twenty-five years, the latter is now one of the most extensive and remarkable collections dedicated to fashion photography, covering the period from the 1930s to the present day.

The exhibition also benefits from numerous exceptional loans from The Irving Penn Foundation and the Miyake Issey Foundation.