A heady relationship: fashion photography and the museum, 1979 to the present

Exploring the relationship between fashion photography and the museum since the late 1970s. The article discusses the ways in which museum curators have displayed fashion photography and its place within overall curatorial strategy.

In 1986, the exhibition Shots of Style, selected by fashion photography and Swinging London portraitist, David Bailey, opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It marked a turning point in the relationship between the museum establishment and the photography of fashion. This paper charts the journey made by fashion photography towards its eventual acceptance by the museum establishment, culminating in a discussion of the exhibition Fashioning Fiction at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Publisher's text about this book:

Exhibitions of fashion, textiles and dress in museums and galleries have grown inordinately over the last fifteen to twenty years. This special issue extends from the previous issue, Exhibitionism (Vol 12, Issue 1) to examine the considerations raised by teaching fashion curation as a discipline concerned with the cultural worth of dress on display.

MA Fashion Curation at London College of Fashion (University of Arts London) was established in 2004 and this issue reflects the discourse generated from its programme and documents some of its initial projects.

The special issue balances the practical and theoretical concerns of contemporary fashion curation and explores emerging cultural and commercial contexts for a practice informed by both academia and the museums and galleries sector.