Erotica Meets Fashion

Did Helmut Newton do it first?  (See my posts on Helmut Newton by clicking on his name in the left column of this page or type his name into the search box.  Additionally, I recommend reading this excellent Voguepedia bio.)  So, was Newton the first to incorporate fetishism and bondage into his fashion photographs?  I'm not sure.  But, here we see it is alive and well.  Here are two shots of Alexander McQueen's work shot by Steven Meisel.

CONCEPTS

What I would call, "provocative". Photo: Albert Watson

What I would call, "kitsch". Photo: David Lachapelle

What I would call, "theatrical". Photo: Adolph de Meyer

What I would call, "playfully patriotic". Photo: William Hundley

What I would call, "chic". Photo: Constantin Joffe

What I would call, "a sense of place". Photo: Robert Frank

What I would call, "sweeping and momentous". Photo: Henri Cartier-Bresson

What I would call, "transcendent". Photo: Sarah Moon

What I would call, "pushing boundaries". Photo: Sally Mann

What I would call, "moving". Photo: Philip Jones Griffiths

What I would call, "a great example of conceptual". Photo: Steven Meisel

What I would call, "a brilliant observation". Photo: Diane Arbus

What I would call, "elegant and regal". Photo: Erwin Blumenfield

What I would call, "definitively sexy". Photo: Phil Poynter

To be continued ...

Steven Meisel

I am reminded how much laundry is piling up at home. If only it could be so glamorous.

Valentine's Day Fashions

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott

Deborah Turbeville

Guy Bourdin

Ellen von Unwerth (of Eva Mendez)

Ellen von Unwerth (for Russian Vogue)

Helmet Newton

Miles Aldridge

Nick Knight

Steven Meisel (Tribute to Alexander McQueen for Vogue 2011)

Richard Avedon (Versace ad featuring Kelly LeBrock, circa 1980s)

equally evocative

Two completely different shots, two different photographers, two different renderings, two stylistically different approaches -- and yet they move me in similar ways. How to explain it?

Left: STEVEN MEISEL

Right: ELLEN VON UNWERTH