Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition spectacularly proves that fashion is more than just a pretty face
The next time I hear the fashion world described as one populated by empty souls with overflowing handbags I shall calmly point them in the direction of the National Portrait Gallery’s latest exhibition.
Proof that the clothing industry has hot blood pulsing through its veins, this homage to British Vogue during its centenary year is not just a retrospective of one style title and its contribution to our culture, it is a journey through history.
Spanning 10 decades and almost 2,000 issues of Vogue, 12 packed rooms track the magazine’s footsteps from 2016 back to its very first issue, beginning with Kate Moss — captured by Mario Testino and clad in a Britpop parka — and ending with a detailed insight into Cecil Beaton’s early work.
Along for the ride are an impressive catalogue of photographers — everyone from Irving Penn to David Bailey and Corinne Day are celebrated here — as well as a stable of British icons such as Josephine Baker to Cara Delevingne.
And yet, contrary to what fashion cynics might expect, it is not the pretty faces and the posh dresses (although there are plenty of both on display) nor even the supreme photographic skills possessed by Testino and his predecessors that make this show so memorable.
Instead it is the cold, hard proof that a popular magazine has, for a century, served as a barometer for the changing tides in the lives of British women that makes it a success.
The most compelling viewing is the Nineties section and the iconic Under Exposure story that cemented the creative partnership between Day and a young Kate Moss.
Harnessing a real sense of the era, the photographs quite marvellously capture the cultural shift towards realism that occurred during that decade.
The images, which feature everyone from the Beckhams to Princess Diana, also chart the rise of the celebrity phenomena and its significance to magazine readers.
But it is out of the times of real sociological unrest that some of the exhibition’s most poignant visuals have sprung. One sketch, drawn for a Forties issue of Vogue by illustrator Carl Erickson, comes with the title Bright Fashion for Dark Days and is a reminder of the testing times faced by early Vogue readers.
Fashion is Indestructible - a wartime picture story shot by Beaton on London bombsites - contrasts gritty realism and escapism while reminding viewers of fashion’s enduring appeal.
The notion of fashion as an antidote for hopelessness is also explored through Bruce Weber’s vision of Eighties aristocrat Victoria Lockwood — a shoot dreamt up to capture the need for new growth and hope for the future that defined Thatcher’s Britain at the time. And again in the Sixties section, when the optimism that defined the capital during the decade of love and hedonism plays out in a story shot by Vogue legend David Bailey featuring Jean Shrimpton and Grace Coddington.
So many of the visuals in this show succeed in bringing the sights and sounds of the era they depict to life. To this end, it is almost impossible to look upon a young Twiggy, clad in Miss Selfridge and cycling a Raleigh bicycle through Battersea Park, without allowing a few chords of Sergeant Pepper to play out inside one’s head. But this homage to British Vogue through the ages also speaks volumes about the timeless nature of fashion photography and, indeed, Vogue’s longstanding reputation as an arbitrator of “the next big thing”.
To this effect, this show is as much about embracing the future of British fashion as it is about celebrating its past - a fact that’s harnessed by a floor-to-ceiling video installation of contemporary work that begins the show.
From advances in technology to changes in hem heights, Vogue 100 is not a retrospective of one magazine but a compendium of contemporary culture. It is this that means there is interesting viewing on offer for everyone here - whether you care about fashion or not.
Vogue 100: A Century of Style, sponsored by Leon Max, is at the National Portrait Gallery, WC2 (020 7306 0055, npg.org.uk) from tomorrow until May 22
ReviewVogue 100: A Century of Style shows fashion is more than a pretty faceBritish VogueNational Portrait GalleryKate MossCecil BeatonMario TestinoDavid BaileyTwiggyPrincess DianaCara DelevingneGrace CoddingtonJean ShrimptonFrom Twiggy to Kate Moss, this journey through a century of British fashion is not just a retrospective of one celebrated magazine but a compendium of contemporary culture
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