Fashion in the Mirror will focus on fashion photography’s subject matter and narrative from within the image itself rather than its more common relationship to realism. The works in the exhibition deconstruct the image-making process and lay bare the basic principles of the fashion photograph; the way it is staged, its artificiality and the notion of ‘perfect beauty.’ It will present an overview of this self-examination and a rare look behind-the-scenes from the 1960s to the present day.

The exhibition will include work by leading international photographers including Norman Parkinson (UK, 1913 – 1990), Melvin Sokolsky (US, b.1933), Grégoire Alexandre (France, b.1972), Harri Peccinotti (UK, b.1938), and Jonathan de Villiers (UK, b.1968).

In the work of Sokolsky and Parkinson, the photographer enters the picture frame and depicts himself in the process of being photographed, including a mirror to create a self-portrait with the model. De Villiers plays on this further by including the art director, the assistant, the stylist and photographic equipment within the image and so making fun of the cliché of the fashion entourage. Alexandre explores the private world of the studio and through minimal signs reveals the full poetic and comic potential inherent within the studio setting.

Fashion in the Mirror is co-cura