Parr for Vuitton

It’s been a while since we put up a fashion photograph on Things To Look At, no better way to kick start it than with Martin Parr’s images for Louis Vuitton I think. This work is particularly interesting, not only based on how good it looks but because there’s definitely an effort here to do something different. Its unusual because its fashion reportage – distinctly different from the posed glossy campaigns from years past. Its an interesting commission on Vuitton’s part to work with Parr, famous for his modern photo documentary style. The images have an easy elegance, it all seems unforced and seamlessly casual. The crops and focused shots on detail are almost movie like, which is further enforced by an apparent narrative. He’s on holiday (the bag), meeting with friends then off to a party in the evening (ok its not an Oscar, but at least there’s a story). Not quite sure how many times I’ve seen fashion campaigns work with the idea of a narrative in this way – I wish it’d happen more.