The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay “A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!” Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker

Nov 2014 back issue

Proud Chelsea, 6th November - 7th December 2014, www.proud.co.uk

Norman Parkinson: Always in Fashion is an exquisite selection of images celebrating the innovative genius of photographer Norman Parkinson. This daring collection of photographs offers an intriguing insight into the creative mind of the man who transformed fashion photography through his idiosyncratic style and rigorous aesthetic. Quintessentially British, Norman Parkinson's pioneering career spanned a remarkable 56 years. Turning his back on the stiff formality that had dominated pre-war fashion photography, he took women out into the real world to long-haul exotic locations at a time when air travel was in its infancy, combining enchanting and alluring glamour with his witty eye. The exhibition at Proud Chelsea charts the transformation from women wearing dungarees and uniformed utility suits at cattle auctions, picking fruit or checking milk quotas to carefully cultivated shoots where Parkinson took the models to breath-taking destinations, creating an expansive narrative with the use of unexpected props and unusual juxtapositions. From the hidden country lanes of England to the rich and exotic landscape of India, Parkinson's talents found their fullest expression and this collection of bold portraits conveys a pivotal movement in fashion photography. His work was picked up by leading fashion bibles Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, generating world-wide recognition, ensuring him a well-deserved place at the forefront of the photography world.

After Van Dongen, 1959. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Anne Gunning, Jaipur, 1956. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Jerry Hall, Vogue, 1975. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Coming and Going, Nena, 1958. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Coming and Going, Nena, 1958. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Audrey Hepburn, 1955. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Hyde Park Corner, Vogue, 1951. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Hat Fashions. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

LeGroux Soeurs Hat, 1952. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Nena and the Sphinx. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

New York, New York, 1959. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Pilar Crespi, 1980. © Norman Parkinson Ltd / Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.

Norman Parkinson: Always in Fashion is on show at Proud Chelsea, 6th November - 7th December 2014, www.proud.co.uk