Evening Standard

ART AND FASHION ARE GETTING CLOSER.

ARE THEY REALLY THAT CLOSE?

The National Portrait Gallery’s fame is world widely known to exhibit outstanding portraiture.

From the 1st February to 4th June 2002 the National Portrait Gallery is exhibiting fashion photographer Mario Testino’s portraiture. Mario Testino currently has an international reputation and is known to portray Fashion icons of fashion, film, music and style. He is one of the most sought after and charismatic photographers of his generation. He captures the glittering world of fashion both on and off the catwalk.

The exhibition features the photographer’s amazing portraits of Supermodels, Gisele Bundchen, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and designers Tom Ford, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. For his portraits he shoots International party capitals, like Rio de Janeiro, London and Los Angeles, as backdrops to his glamorous portraits of celebrities and Hollywood stars, including Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Keanu Reeves, Meg Ryan, Madonna, Robbie Williams and Elizabeth Hurley.

Christy Turlington

Now, more than ever, Art and Fashion are correlated and influenced by each other.

The paintings of some of the greatest artists, like Gauguin and Matisse inspire motives for dress styles, and photography is part of Art Museums live of visitors and must exhibit Classical Art, and the reason for this is that they tend to attract a small part of visitors.

The exhibition of fashion photographers is a modern way to attract more people as possible and look onwards, to the future, stimulating the new generations, as well as the aged.

Therefore, the National Portrait Gallery is justified in lending its great name to the work of a fashion photographer, although this measure may break the museum’s traditional schemes, as fashion photography may not appear as deep as paintings. Overall the lending of its great name is another way to promote both sides.

article by Camilla Pinto