Edward Steichen & Art Deco Fashion

Overview

When one thinks of style, it's hard to look past the roaring twenties. The Art Deco movement was just beginning, the women were composed and elegant, and the dresses were bejewelled and flowing. What one might not think of, is the name Edward Steichen — the man who captured it all.

Steichen was a photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair in the magazines' much-lauded heyday, and was responsible for revolutionising the field of fashion photography. In the era of celebrity, glamour and style, Steichen was a goliath. His well-balanced and meticulously composed photographic style became emblematic of the time, and influenced many high-profile photographers for years to come.

The NGV's latest exhibition Edward Steichen & Art Deco Fashion will be showing over 200 of Steichen's photographs and many garments and accessories from the '20s and '30s. Work from leading designers such as Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet, Madame Paquin and Callot Soeurs will be on display, and audiences will be able to gleefully immerse themselves in the style of the time. This may be through chronicling the evolution of the flapper slip dress, learning the Charleston during opening weekend, or simply drifting off into one of Steichen's iconic photographs and letting the afternoon drift by.