In the pantheon of fashion photography, Paolo Roversi occupies a place all his own. This weekend, the Palais Galliera will inaugurate the largest monograph ever dedicated to the Italian-born, Paris-based photographer, a compilation of 140 images—many of which are exhibited here for the first time—culled from a half-century’s worth of archives in Roversi’s famed Studio Luce in the 14th arrondissement.
Headlined by a 2015 portrait of Molly Bair wearing a Chanel dress, hat, and flamboyant red wig, the show explores Roversi’s pioneering work and, particularly, felicitous accidents with the then-revolutionary Polaroid; his decades-long Nudi series—starting with a young Inès de la Fressange in 1983, through to Stella Tennant, Amber Valletta, Kate Moss, and others, an endeavor that would likely be impossible to pull off today; and how the photographer helped to define the visual identity of houses like Dior, Yohji Yamamoto, Cerruti, and Comme des Garçons. Echoing Roversi’s studio, the scenography moves from shadow to light in a non-linear staging with notable cameos by now-fashion royalty like Naomi Campbell, Natalia Vodianova, and Rihanna.
“What’s always interesting about great artists in fashion is that Paolo is at the heart of the industry, and at the same time he doesn’t follow the trends of fashion,” offered Miren Arzalluz, director of the Musée Galliera. “He’s a man of music, art, and profound culture, and he treats fashion that way, as culture.” It was only after choosing the photo of Bair, she added, that the Galliera staff realized that the dress was also already in the archives. “Basically the museum has become his studio,” she offered. “[Bair] looks like she is inviting you into his world.”
Rather than take a linear approach, curator Sylvie Lécailler said she was guided by the light in Roversi’s work. “There’s a balance between fashion images where the clothes are very present and images that are more about portraiture that hark back to the 19th century,” she said. “That back and forth, between the faces and the silhouettes, revealed new dimensions even to me. It’s like he’s looking into their soul.” Said Roversi 76, “She was very patient, because I live in hesitation, indecision, and doubt all the time, so it’s not easy to work with me.”
Another favorite model, Guinevere van Seenus, a collaborator of nearly three decades, disagreed on that point. “Having your portrait taken is more than just looking at the camera, [Paolo] creates the space for the person to [emerge],” she said.
In an era so saturated by images that looking without really seeing has become the norm, Lécailler said that she hoped that people would take the time to be touched by Roversi’s gaze, and feel the emotion behind it. “Paolo has transformed the fashion world so much,” she said. “He pours his whole self into every shot. Such authenticity is rare. It’s almost as if he were standing on the banks of a river, removed from all the noise and tumult and excess and speed, which lets him take it somewhere else entirely.”
The Paolo Roversi exhibition at Palais Galliera will run from March 16 th through July 14, 2024. www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr
