So said Irving Penn, one of America’s most celebrated photographers, a prolific artist whose work crossed the boundaries of fashion and art, and one of the major image-makers of the past century.

During his 70-year plus career, Penn’s work as a photographer spanned everything from still life to fashion, advertising to portraits, lurching from the experimental to the everyday and crossing almost every aspect in between. He is credited with being one of the first photographers who showed his medium to be as powerful as that of art, producing photographs every bit as iconic as paintings.  Art critics have referred to him as classical and minimal, his technique as restrained. No matter what he turned his lens to, however, there remained an instantly recognizable factor in his work. Known for his signature stripped back sets and simple backdrops as well as his often black and white, highly contrasted images, his subjects  – be they film stars, street scenes or still life – stand stark and angular. The lack of anything else featured seems to highlight their character – there is quite simply nothing to hide behind in an Irving Penn portrait.

Born in 1917, Penn wasn’t always going to be a photographer. He studied drawing and graphics at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art before finding himself as the assistant to the art director at Saks Fifth Avenue. From there he moved to the art department of Vogue, working on layouts. Soon he transferred to photography, and so started the dominant professional relationship of his career. Throughout his sixty-year plus tenure shooting for the magazine, Penn shot over 150 covers, countless ground breaking fashion stories and almost every major face of each decade under his watch. Whether his shots were of the 1950’s French model Bettina in her nipped in skirt suit, of 90’s super Cindy Crawford with her beach hair, of a naked Marisa Berenson dripping in gold or of the likes of Amber Valetta and Nadja Auermann, his images for the magazine zone in on their subjects’ strength and personality, and they more than stand the test of time. Some of the first images he ever took for the magazine whilst on his first assignment in Paris in 1950 feature his long time collaborator and wife Lisa Fonssagrives. In ‘Woman with Flowers,’ one of his most famous, you find an energy and use of fashion as a form of expression that make her as much a woman of now as she was of then. At KOTUR we are always interested in style that is rooted in substance, in the sort of presence that comes from personality and fashion that is about more than the clothes we put on. For these reasons straight off we find Penn’s photographs hugely inspiring to see.    

 Irving Penn’s photography is curently showed in it’s largest retrospective yet, named Beyond Beauty, which end at the Smithsonian Museum on 30th March 2016.

Photo Courtesy of Conde nast, Smithsonian Museum, The Irving Penn Foundation

]]> http://www.koturltd.com/blog/2016/03/irving-penn-beyond-beauty-2/feed/ 0 http://www.koturltd.com/blog/2013/04/three-ways-to-wear-bridal/ http://www.koturltd.com/blog/2013/04/three-ways-to-wear-bridal/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:19:53 +0000 kotur http://www.koturltd.com/blog/?p=9473 ]]> When it comes to your wedding day, should you be looking for inspiration for what to wear, Vogue’s latest book on weddings is a must read. Packed with beautiful images of even more beautiful brides, it’s a compendium of wedding day chic. As wedding season approaches we couldn’t help but get excited, and, for those preparing for the big day, here are three ways to wear three very different bridal looks as inspired by Vogue Weddings.

1. The Dramatic Bride: As seen on Lauren Santo Domingo, nothing does drama like a wedding gown. She wore custom Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci, you can find the same wow factor from these designers here. Pictures: Lauren Santo Domingo on her wedding day from Vogue Weddings, taffeta dress by Rochas, strapless Lanvin dress and tiered column dress by Giambatista Vialli all available at www.net-a-porter.com. Shoes by Rupert Sanderson, vintage diamante earrings from Susan Caplan Vintage, tulle cape by Lanvin, Louis Mariette tiara from Browns Bride and Kotur For Operation Smile available here.

2. Romantic Bride When it comes to quintessential English romance, you need to look no further than the wedding of Kate Moss for inspiration. Her custom made Galliano gown, the perfect Cotswolds setting and her bevvy of Bonpoint dressed bridemaids all made for a wedding fit for the rosiest of English roses. Pictures: Kate Moss on her wedding day from Vogue Weddings, dresses by Matthew Williamson, Temperley and Nina Ricci all from www.net-a-porter.com, Jimmy Choo shoes, veil by Lanvin, Deepa Gurnani headband, St Erasmus hair slides and Louis Mariette headpiece all from Browns Bride and Kotur lace Margo available here.

3. Relaxed Bride For a destination wedding and a relaxed, beachy feel, Cindy Crawford’s nuptials lead the way in barefoot chic. Wearing nothing but a simple neglige style shift, beach hair and a tan, the Supermodel looked divine. For a similiar (though perhaps slightly less purist look,) here’s how to work the look. Pictures: Cindy Crawford on her wedding day from Vogue Weddings, dresses by Jay Ahr, Anna Sui and Nina Ricci, Rosantica Mia earring, Gucci gold sandals and Rene Caovilla pink sandals all from www.net-a-porter.com, wishbone necklace by Jennifer Meyer and lace Margo in pink available here.