A New Exhibition Invites Visitors to Ellen von Unwerth's Party
A photo of Beyoncé pressed against the wall hangs next to one of a young Britney Spears biting her finger. On the opposite side: a vignette of Janet Jackson from "The Velvet Rope," breathing in a cigar with coils framing her face. Each of these images was captured by Ellen von Unwerth, one of fashion's most legendary, prolific photographers, and the subject of the newest exhibit at the Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Fashion (SCAD Fash) in Atlanta, GA.
Curated by SCAD Fash Creative Director Rafael Gomes, "This Side of Paradise" highlights the high-energy, colorful imagery von Unwerth is known for, through photographs of drag queens like Farrah Moan and RuPaul, as well as famous faces like Naomi Campbell, Rihanna, Zoë Kravitz and Lady Gaga. (There's even tinsel hanging in the doorway of various rooms, to match the vibe of the art on the walls.) This is far from the first exhibit with von Unwerth's work, but the SCAD Fash show is particularly focused on her lush, party-esque shots, from 1993 to 2022.
Photo: Courtesy of SCAD
Von Unwerth actually started out on the other side of the lens: Before reaching the heights of fashion photography, she began her career as a model. She met a photographer who would become her boyfriend after moving to Paris; when he gifted her a camera, she started experimenting.
"I was really excited with my camera, and I shot everything," she told the audience gathered to hear her in conversation with Stefano Tonchi on the opening night of the exhibit. "I shot the people running in the street and went to villages. I photographed women hanging out with the kids. When I came back everybody was like, 'Man, you took these pictures? But they're really good.' Of course, people always think models are stupid."
She soon found herself placing her work in magazines in Paris, working with Vogue and shooting campaigns. Her big break: photographing Claudia Schiffer for a 1989 Guess ad. It went the pre-internet version of viral.
Von Unwerth became a go-to photographer for esteemed houses like Chanel, Dior, Miu Miu, Azzedine Alaïa and Ferragamo. Speaking at SCAD, she explained her goal is to give her subjects a chance to do what she never could in her 10-year career as a model: feel creative.
"I didn't feel I could really express myself in modeling because people would always say, 'Hold still. Look to the left. Turn right. Don't move.' And I was wanting to be silly and do something fun," she said. "On the other hand, I learned a lot. I went to many, many countries and met amazing people and unconsciously I learned about photography."
To create the magic signature to her style, mutual trust and a sense of relaxation are paramount, she explained: "I actually don't really like the crews. I have very small crews, but I take people I trust and know that they can follow my vision... in my pictures, there's always movement. That's what I learned from being a model. I don't want anything posed."
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Photo: Courtesy of SCAD
Von Unwerth's photographs are full of life and narrative — that's because, as she told the audience, "sometimes, I write a little story before a fashion shoot, and I give everybody a role to play. Sometimes it's just a sentence. Usually it's like, 'Oh, you look over there, you're jealous. Oh, look over there, hot guy!' So it's usually very simple. It gets people animated, and they start to not think so much about how they look."
Like the story she writes before a shoot, finding the cast of "characters" that bring it to life are just as important for von Unwerth.
"It's all about the casting," she said. "I feel a little bit like a circus director, you know. I bring them into a certain mood and build up a situation and make everybody feel comfortable and direct them."
Photo: Courtesy of SCAD
The exhibit, which closes in January 2024, takes visitors on an optical joyride across parties, realities and people.
"Many shots are beautiful, but there's always those shots which you actually want to put in a book or on a wall because they have more emotion and they just tell you something. They speak to you," she said. "There's a magic to it."
"Ellen von Unwerth: This Side of Paradise" is on view at the SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, GA through Jan. 8, 2024.
Disclosure: SCAD paid for Fashionista's travel and accommodations to visit the exhibit.
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