![]() ![]() The eroticism of the image comes from this play on expectations, rather than the display of flesh. Using the street where he once lived in Paris as the backdrop, Helmut Newton emphasises the model's androgyny with her masculine stance, cigarette and no make up. The suit sparked controversy at the time as people were still not used to seeing women in trousers. The tuxedo, known as "Le Smoking", was designed by Yves Saint Laurent and first shown as part of his "Pop Art" collection in 1966, almost a decade before this iconic photograph was taken. This photograph, taken for Vogue in 1975, shows a woman standing alone in a dimly lit street holding a cigarette, her hair slicked back in the style of a gigolo. The phrase 'make the fur fly' meaning to 'create an uproar' suggests the affect of Newton's photography on the conservative and artificial world of fashion, figuratively making furs fly on the fashion runway as much as literally on the aircraft runway in this photograph.ġ975 Yves Saint Laurent, Rue Aubriot, French Vogue The shoot was dicey as not only did Newton have to find a pilot at short notice, the model had to run out in front of the plane at the last possible moment in order to capture both in the same shot. This is an important early example of the storytelling quality in his fashion photography, as well as his willingness to take risks. Inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock movie, North by Northwest (1959), Helmut Newton notes in his autobiography that his wife June came up with the idea as he was having creative block in the days leading up to the shoot, suggesting he "do a Hitchcock". The photograph was part of an eight-page spread in the magazine wearing Revillon Frères furs under the heading "How to Make the Fur Fly". ![]() Helmut had a keen eye for beautiful women, and this wasn't the first time he had worked with Willy Van Rooy, having previously shot her for French Elle and French Vogue. She wears white GoGo boots, a fur coat, black leather gloves and a woollen hat. This photograph, taken for British Vogue in 1967, shows another super model, Willy Van Rooy, running down an aircraft runway towards the camera, with a shocked expression on her face, as a low flying plane follows close behind her. He utilises elaborate sets, highly posed scenes, and of course, glamorous attire, but at the heart of the photographs, these are always in service of conveying human emotion.ġ967 How to Make the Fur Fly, British Vogue, London Newton's admiration for the cinema, particularly Film Noir, is evident in his preference for black and white film, seductive women, and mysterious narrative elements. ![]() What makes Newton's contribution unique is bringing these influences to fashion advertising. Newton borrowed from cinema, erotica, journalism, and art, giving no credence to the distinction between high and low brow art forms, a theme shared by many modern artists.He encourages the viewer to question the sexual objectification of women by forcing them to confront their own voyeuristic gaze. The women he portrays are independent, and in command. Newton expressed through photography the idea that women's sexuality could give them power."A woman does not live in front of a white paper" he said, in reference to the studio, "she lives on the street, in a motor car, in a hotel room." By bringing a journalistic element into his photography, he infused his photographs with human interest. Newton took fashion photography out of the studio and into the vitality of the street, bringing to his work the immediacy and dynamism of the paparazzi.
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