This post aims to explore the portrayal of television celebrities in fashion photography with reference to realist fashion photography and art fashion photography.
Realist Fashion Photography
Realist fashion photography differs from documentary fashion photography and art photography (Smedley 2013) as it portrays, in this analysis, TV celebrities ‘accepting’ an often unsatisfactory reality (Hein 2009). This consequently puts the viewer at unease as the realist photograph appears “disquieting and uncomfortable” (Smedly 2013 p.154). It is argued that realist fashion photography continues to create the desired ‘shock’ impact that photojournalism has lost (Smedey 2013). In this analysis the impact is heightened by the attention these celebrities command in today’s society (Fairchild 2007). Furthermore realist fashion photography is argued to provide aesthetically pleasing and commercial imagery that “represent(s) what refuses to be seen” (Baudrillard 2000).
Brad Pitt and Steven Klein
Brad Pitt, who has both a successful TV and film career (Robb 1996), features in Steven Klein’s ‘Domesic Bliss’ fashion photospread for W Magazine (W Magazine 2005). It can be argued that this photoshoot is underpinned by realist fashion photography theory due to the visible underlying theme of ‘truthful reality’, despite its staged and manipulated presentation. Dumenco (2004) believes Klein to be “the most influential (and busy) fashion photographer in the world right now” and states Klein’s “sexually ambiguous, quasi-commercial transgressivness is the new fashion frisson”. It is this new approach, developed by Klein, that reinforces the widely accepted conclusion that fashion photography now reflects current societal issues and trends (Walther 2000; Fox 2013; Smedley 2013) rather than the creation of idealistic “mindlessly glam” images (Dumenco 2004). It is Klein's affinity with the truth and reality that encourages him to work closely with the celebrities he photographs and his ability to “re-contextualise” them whilst representing an important aspect of their personality in his work (Ward 2009).
TV Celebrities in Fashion Photography
Brad Pitt is one among many TV celebrities who have featured in fashion photography. Notable examples include Sarah Jessica Parker (Cary Bradshaw of Sex and the City) and Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen of Gossip Girl) whose characters have a profound interest in fashion and define their identity through the labels they wear (Warner 2014). Their TV character’s fashion choices often harmonise with the actor's own fashion sense. This arguably aids their progression from TV to fashion photography subject as a powerful affinity exists with fashion and style both on and off screen (Warner 2014). Their celebrity style status (Gibson 2012) heightens the fashion photography's believability and credibility as these celebrities are regarded as an expert source (Atkin and Beltramini 2007).
Blake Lively features regularly in Marie Claire photospeads. The above photographs formed part of Lively’s cover photoshoot and interview spread for Marie Claire October 2012. In the interview Lively states “I dress the same as my character”, when referencing Gossip Girl. This encourages the audience to draw parallels between her on and off set character, heightening her credibility as a style expert (Atkin and Beltramini 2007). This photoshoot can be described as ‘art photography‘ rather than ‘realist photography’ as it adopts a traditional commercial and promotional approach to photography showcasing an idealistic fantasy (Smedly 2013).
More commonly Parker is featured in fashion art photography (below) that conveys an idealistic lifestyle to the consumer, often focusing on opulence and timeless style. This conforms to the prevalent theme of ‘lifestyle’ art photography genre within fashion photography (Wells 2000).
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