Model A wears designs by Ken Kwok-Kin Fong shot in Hammersmith. This was shot on location in an empty apartment, the room was dressed with newspaper to a feature wall. The faux fur jacket was a last minute inclusion and really makes the shot. Lighting was via mobile strobes synced using pocket wizards. Very little post production was used as we had time to get the shot right in-camera.
With the advent of affordable commercial colour photography after the Second World War, heartthrobs and pin-up we no longer just the domain of the silver screen or the illustrative talents of Alberto Vargas and Gil Elvgren.
Gone were the Victorian taboos of exposing any flesh, censorship became more liberal and the demand for images of beautiful girls to adorn magazines and advertising campaigns kept growing.
Film stars, stage actresses and showgirls all got in on the act. Film studios, theatres and publications new that if they had the biggest star they could make more money. The image of these stars fought for notoriety trying to push the boundaries further and further till the censors acted. It was like an X Factor through print. Everyman had his favourite, and women wanted to be like them. Armed forces pinned them up by their bunks to remind them of the reason they were fighting and their sweetheart back home.
Today their images look quite tame, oddly processed and low quality, given the technology and our expectations of today. However, we think this is all part of the charm. They always say ‘A little is more’ and the longevity of these image has probably long exceeded their original expected time.
With the increasing popularity of vintage clothing and retro designs we took the beautiful Roberta and gave her the 50’s makeover. Simple lighting, cute poses and charged sexuality transports us back to another era where stardom was all in the balance and at the mercy of a photographer’s lens.