1970s:

Fashion photography changed again. One of the most controversial photographers of this era was Helmut Newton.

Helmut Newton used themes for his subjects and brought a unique mixture of style, sex, and theatre to fashion photography. He created narratives that frequently centred on themes of eroticism and power, which he recorded with a detached sense of amusement or irony.

(rue aubriot, for french vogue, paris, 1975)

In 1966, Yves saint laurent sent out a model in a man's suit,
with the aim of freeing women from the trappings of feminine,
frilly dresses, this caused a huge scandal.

 



1980s: fashion photography lacked any clear direction Europeans had grown tired of hard-core fashion pornography, and the erotic images of the 1970s had faded. Photographers were creating images of women reflected changing social attitudes and editorial-like ad campaigns

Herb Ritts was an American fashion photographer who shot many of the now-iconic portraits of 1980s and 90s supermodels and celebrities that were originally published in Vogue and Vanity Fair. He focused on black-and-white photography and portraits in the style of classical Greek sculpture. With his images he creates perfect symmetry with the shapes he forms in his photographs.

In the 1980s he worked with magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone and fashion houses like Armani and Versace. He became famous for his ultra-stylish black-and-white portraits, and directed music videos with superstars like Madonna and Michael Jackson. 

1990s:  Two prominent photographers of this era are Patrick Demarchelier and Mario Testino.

Patrick Demarchelier is a French photographer who has worked in New York since the 1970’s. He rose to prominence with Harper's Bazaar in the late 1980's and early 90's. He has created historic campaigns for Louis Vuitton to Ralph Lauren. He is known for mixing black and white and colour. 

Mario Testino is a well known celebrity and fashion photographer. He is best known for his Vogue covers and editorials. Since the 1990's, he has had a clean, consistent, corporate style evident in the Gucci and Kors campaigns for over 10 years.