In a previous post I paid homage to Sergio Leone and briefly analysed the role of women in his films.
I was recently going through some old magazines and discovered some interesting photo shoots inspired by Westerns.
In May 1969 Italian magazine Domina published a photo shoot entitled “Domina nel West” (Domina in the West), shot in Utah between canyons and deserts.
The photo shoot mainly featured models wearing the most recent summery looks.
It was interesting to notice how, though the main purpose of the magazine was commercial and the photographs tried to highlight what the models were wearing rather than the location, the photographer and the stylist also tried to make the effort to create interesting contrasts between the silhouettes and colours of the garments worn by the models wore and the landscapes surrounding them.
A model wearing a minimalist and almost futuristic white trouser suit was photographed in front of beige and brown canyons, as she tried to imitate in her pose the shape of a nearby tree branch.
Another model wearing a pink, fuchsia and violet kaftan by Emilio Pucci and pink stockings was instead photographed sitting on a pile of tree trunks loaded on a cart.
In June 2001 American Vogue published a photo shoot coordinated by fashion editor Grace Coddington and shot by photographer Arthur Elgort.
There is one picture in this shoot that makes me think more about a film than about fashion and it’s the one that shows two kids and a very young man on a cart and a woman wearing a huge black gown with exaggerated sleeves by Viktor & Rolf ("Black Hole" - A/W 2001-02 collection) walking in front of the cart.
The image really evokes the world of Sergio Leone and also makes me think about the character of the widow Jill McBain in C'era una volta il West (Once Upon a Time in the West, 1968).
The final photo shoot was published last August by Teen Vogue. It was entitled "Best Western" and was shot again by Arthur Elgort.
This time the commercial side of fashion is back and clothes are what really counts. in the pics Yet there is also a sort of cinematic theme involved since the young male and female models portrayed are shown as if they were filming a movie, they are indeed surrounded by cameras, lights and props.
The shoot was inspired by John Wayne's The Searchers yet, thanks to the young and carefree models featured, the photo shoot seems to have a special joy and freedom about it (you can see more pics from this shoot here).
I guess Western inspired photo shoots offer the chance to reference specific films while also trying to update the original looks through modern and trendy clothes.
I just wonder which fashion editors, stylists and photographers will take up the Western photo shoot challenge next.
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