Fashion as Photograph

Since early in the twentieth century, photographs have been the driving force behind the fashion system. Fashion images are now some of the most widely circulated images in contemporary culture, commanding an increasing share of public consciousness, as well as a growing amount of wall space in museums, galleries, and auction houses.

Despite this, critical writing on fashion photography is limited and the field itself is still regarded by many as unworthy of focused critical attention. Fashion as Photograph demonstrates the relevance of fashion photography to current debates within visual and cultural studies, presenting fashion photography as a complex cultural phenomenon worthy of serious critical attention.

Fashion photography is often seen as a purely commercial enterprise, motivated by financial concerns rather than genuine creativity. Much existing critical analysis of fashion imagery simply lumps it in with other forms of advertising, ignoring its unique characteristics. Fashion as Photograph includes contributions from writers on photography and visual culture as well as individuals working in the fashion industry. It brings current cultural and photographic criticism to bear on the analysis of fashion photography, while also exploring the specificity of this field.

Within recent years, a growing number of writers have begun to engage critically with fashion photography. However, this work tends to be dispersed within broader texts on fashion, exhibition catalogues, and academic journals. Fashion as Photograph seeks to bring together the emergent body of critical discourse on fashion photography, charting its boundaries and identifiying its key concerns.

More and more universities worldwide are adding fashion photography to their undergraduate and postgraduate curricula but the range of critical texts on this subject is limited at present. This collection will benefit the growing number of researchers working in the fields of fashion photography. It will also be useful to readers in the broader fields of photography, visual, cultural, and media studies, by demonstrating the ways that fashion photography both engages and extends current critical debates within these fields. Finally, the content and approach are also designed to appeal to a more general audience.