u/ramenspoonz

This image appeared in the July issue of La Gazette du Bon Ton in 1913.

Georges Lepape (1887–1971), a regular contributor to the periodical’s emblematic fashion plates celebrating the leading designers of the era, imagines here a scene titled By the Light of the Moon. The work showcases a refined, stylized woman in a dramatic Paul Poiret evening cloak, typical of the Orientalist and modernist aesthetic shared by Lepape and Poiret.

Twice Hilde II presents a doubled image of Karl Hubbuch’s (1891–1979) wife, Hilde Isai. The work was originally conceived as a four‑part portrait, but water damage to the central panels led Hubbuch to cut the composition in half.

Deeply interested in typological portraiture representative of New Objectivity, Hubbuch avoids fixing Isai into a single definitive likeness. Instead, he reveals her through multiple facets. In this particular work, his attention to detail animates each version of her with a distinct psychological charge.

This photograph first appeared in the March issue of Vogue Paris in 1979, and shows the supermodel Gia Carangi, then 19, with Robin Osler, who leans over her, dressed in Yves Saint Laurent’s infamous Le Smoking tuxedo.

Helmut Newton’s images are quite fascinating to unpack, as they often blend elements that are both aesthetically pleasing and deeply confronting in their voyeuristic, male‑centric framing. In this instance, there’s a precision in narrative that I nevertheless find quite mesmerising.