The designs became more stylized as well as their photographed advertisements. Many of the most influential fashion photographers surfaced at this time as well. One of the most recognized photographers of all time, Richard Avedon began his career. In 1955 Avedon shot an advertisement for Dior of model Dovima. The image is easily one of the most recognizable photographs of the era. .
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Dovima with elephants, Evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955.
Other influential photographers of the time include Irving Penn, Iban Montero and Henry Clarke; all of them had successful careers far into future decades. Avedon photographed model Twiggy several times throughout the 1960s. Twiggy quickly changed the standards and what consumers considered the ideal woman. She is famously known for her big wide eyes and baby doll appearance throughout the 1970's and 80's. This decade is best known as the Disco era and Twiggy quickly became the poster child of the fashion world. During this time period there was a rise of technology and drug consumption that highly influenced the fashion designers. .
Richard Avedon. Twiggy, hair by Ara Gallant, Paris. January 1968.
There was new race of model on the rise as well in the decade. In 1974 Beverly Johnson was the first black woman to appear on the cover of American Vogue. After her appearance women of the same race were accepted as models for all different fashion designers. This had a great impact on the industry for years to come. Creative directors continuously tried to push the boundaries of fashion photography and introducing African American models was one of the biggest changes to the modeling industry in the 70's. Johnson was named "one of the 20th century's most influential people in fashion" by New York Times in 2008 (Dennis, 2008). It was because of her appearance that supermodels like Iman and Tyra Banks were able to arise in the future.
