“I see myself as a huge fiery comet, a shooting star. Everyone stops, points up and gasps “Oh look at that!” Then whoosh, and I’m gone…and they’ll never see anything like it ever again and they won’t be able to forget me, ever.” - James Douglas Morrison: 12/8/1943 - 7/3/1971
Jim Morrison, inspired by the writings of philosophers and poets, is one of the most poetic artists in music history. His lyrics, infused with spiritual and metaphysical knowledge, still captivate today.
He was passionate about his writing, but when it came to style, he approached it with a certain nonchalance. With his trademark tight low-rise leather pants, he reinvented the whole rock star “look” without even trying. He kept his style natural, laid back, and stayed true to his bohemian Venice Beach roots. It was a look that only a true rock star could pull off.
Vintage glam…1950s eye wear.
Eyeglasses had begun to change in the 1940s due to new materials and new frame styles. By the 1950s, glasses, especially those with “cat eye” frames changed eye wear from a frumpy necessity to sexy fashion accessory.
1959 High fashion frames
Retro Snap…Vogue Paris, Fall 1983 Haute Couture Edition. Photographer: Guy Bourdin
Guy Bourdin knew that in fashion, it’s rarely the product that seduces us, it’s the image. The images he created were sensual and provocative. Dark, lust-filled fantasies…perfect for a decade known for it’s decadence.
Retro Snap….Capucine (6 January 1928 – 17 March 1990) was a French model and actress, discovered at the age of 17 in Paris. She began her career as a model for the fashion houses of Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior. She had classic, some would even say aristocratic features (The New York Times compared her to Nefertiti) and a fiercely independent personality. She adopted the name Capucine, which was French for the nasturtium flower. Sadly, she took her own life in 1990.
Corsets, garter belts, girdles, slips, and stockings…vintage lingerie photographed and transformed into unique works of art by Lillian Bassman.
Lillian Bassman’s lingerie-themed photographs capture the viewer with their stark contrast, graceful lines, and vivid texture. She had the ability to blend commercial and artistic techniques, showcasing the grace in female movement that, she said, “usually passes unnoticed in everyday life”. Most of her work was done during the 1940s-1950s for numerous lingerie ads and Harper’s Bazaar fashion spreads. A female fashion photographer was rare in those days, but this gave Bassman the ability to develop special relationships with her models, putting them at ease in a way that male photographers could not. This trust (she would also send her male technician out of the room for lingerie shots), her preference for “real” locations, natural light, and her signature darkroom manipulations gave her portraits a dreamy, ethereal feel.
Bassman became disillusioned with fashion photography in the late 1960s and left the fashion world behind until the 1990s when she took a renewed interest in her archive. She printed and doctored the images she had loved, but editors had not and transformed them into original works of art. The transformed photographs are poetic, delicate, and they capture the very essence of femininity.
Retro Snap….Gitta Schilling, a top model in Europe during the 1950s and 1960s, was born in Berlin in 1936. She was discovered at the age of 16 while participating in a local parade. By 1958, she was modeling for top designers all around the world. Her style, class, and grace made her one of the most famous fashion models of the time.
