Model in a Gown by Vionnet, 1925

An architect of American Modernism and a Pictorialist, Edward Steichen produced and exhibited his fashion images alongside his "fine-art" photographs. Steichen's detailed, high-key style revolutionized fashion photography throughout the early-twentieth century as the artist endeavored to “make Vogue a Louvre.” Though expensively dressed women had attracted other photographers, Steichen set an enduring standard. No other fashion photographer could rival Steichen for the range of haute couture he covered: Vionnet, Alix (Grès), Callot Soeurs, Chanel, Lanvin, Lelong, Paquin, Poiret, Schiaparelli, Worth, and a host of other designers and fashion houses saw their works depicted creatively and convincingly on the pages of Vogue. This stunning print's softness and warm tonality, coupled with dynamic gestural lines and lighting merge Steichen's seemingly conflicting artistic influences while simultaneously engaging with the aesthetics of early German Expressionist cinema.