Recently, Los Angeles hosted a plethora of exhibitions dedicated to fashion photography: Capturing the Catwalk: Runway Photography from the Michel Arnaud Archive at the FIDM Museum; Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography 1911-2011 at the Getty Museum; and In High Style: The Photography of Neal Barr at the Museum of Ventura County. The FIDM Museum Fashion Council gathered the experts, curators, and contributors to all of these extraordinary exhibitions for their annual Fall Luncheon & Lecture Day on October 27 – an afternoon focused on all things fashion photography. The event, which raised funds for future FIDM Museum acquisitions, coincided with the opening of Capturing the Catwalk on the FIDM Orange County Campus, curated by FIDM Museum Registrar Meghan Hansen. After presenters Shelly Foote and Paul Martineau discussed their work on their respective exhibitions, the day culminated with a conversation between Meghan Hansen and former runway photographer Michel Arnaud.
Arnaud, whose career spanned three decades, initiated this project when he generously donated his personal collection of over 180,000 slides to the FIDM Museum in 2000. Meghan has overseen the digitization of each photo (a task that is roughly a quarter complete) while also matching the runway shots with objects in the Permanent Collection. Through extensive research and personal interviews with Arnaud, Capturing the Catwalk came to life. The exhibition uses the rich resource of the photography archive to narrate the history and development of the runway, next to the garments that graced the stage.
Capturing the Catwalk: Runway Photography from the Michel Arnaud Archive will be open on the FIDM Orange County campus (17590 Gillette Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614) until August 2019. Members of the public are welcome to attend by appointment; please call 949.851.6200 to schedule your visit!
Lecturers: Shelly Foote, formerly of the Smithsonian Institution (Retired); FIDM Museum Guest Curator/Registrar, Meghan G. Hansen; Paul Martineau, Associate Curator, Dept. of Photographs, Getty Museum; and photographer Michel Arnaud.
FIDM Museum Fashion Council Chair Mima Ransom with FIDM Museum Curators Kevin Jones and Christina Johnson.
Fashion Council members Joan Beer Damask and Donald Damask.
FIDM Museum Fashion Council Members, Jeannine Abraham, Linda Konoth and Janine Luciano.
FIDM Museum Fashion Council members Sharon Adams and Marcia Schechter.
Photographer Michel Arnaud and FIDM Museum Curator Kevin Jones.
Gallery shot of Capturing the Catwalk.
Bracelet, necklace and earrings by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.
Coat
Calvin Klein, F/W 1988-1989
Gift of Calvin Klein Archives
97.418.3
Nikon Single-lens reflex film camera (FIDM Museum Purchase) and March Bohan for Dior croquis (F/W 1987-1988, Gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale)
Evening Gown
Christian Lacroix, F/W 1990-1991
Gift of Anonymous Donor
94.10.2
