Paris 62
Photographs by Jerry Schatzberg, Introduction Patricia Bosworth, Essay Julia Morton (Rizzoli) 2008
In the late 1950s, fashion photographers had become part of the international jet set, due in large part to movies such as Funny Face. Although best known at the time for his celebrity portraits and fashion photos, Jerry Schatzberg’s unique “street style” images impressed Esquire Magazine, which hired him to shoot the Paris collections for a cheeky fashion photo spread titled The Silken Jungle. The photographs presented in this book are taken from that assignment.
The Series begins with the arrival of the couture guest, bedecked and bejeweled they meet and greet with cool kisses and hot gosip. “My interest was not in the clothes, but the human behavior”, Schatzberg explained.
Through his lens you watch the various cliques gather, including the powerful American Vogue editor Jessica Daves, holding court like a mob boss in her dark sunglasses.
Moving backstage, Schatzberg notes that nerves are getting the best of the young designer Yves Saint Laurent and his models. This was Saint Laurent’s first solo collection and he had plenty to be anxious about, for waiting in his newly minted salon was an audience of fashion connoisseurs, whose negative reviews could end his career.
French Vogue editor Edmonde Charles-Roux talks with American Vogue editor Jessica Daves
Book cover
Yves St Laurent gets clients kiss of approval
Victoire in Yves St Laurent hat
Model Tania Mallet with photographer Tom Palumbo on set
Photographer Helmut Newton on set