Stylish Bettina In Fath: Photos by Willy Maywald (1950s)

German photographer Wilhelm (Willy) Maywald (1907 – 1985) photographed for various fashion designers and his images were recognized internationally.

Maywald was known for photographing in unique scenes. He was one of the first fashion photographers to photograph his subjects in the streets of Paris. He had a way of photographing his subjects in these various places but the image still focused on the model/clothing. Although Maywald was the main photographer for Dior, he also photographed for several other fashion designers at the time, such as Jacques Fath.

Bettina Graziani wearring Jacques Fath, photographed by Willy Maywald, 1950 via

Bettina Graziani wearring Jacques Fath, photographed by Willy Maywald, 1950 via

Bettina Graziani wearring Jacques Fath, photographed by Willy Maywald, 1950 via

Bettina Graziani wearring Jacques Fath, photographed by Willy Maywald, 1950 via

1950s Supermodel Bettina in Jacques Fath

Simone Micheline Bodin (1925-2015), known professionally as Bettina or Bettina Graziani, became one of the century’s first supermodels, rivalled in the forties only by the “English beauty” Barbara Goalen. Before becoming a model she was described as:

“…a freckle-faced rail worker’s daughter from Brittany”

She was renamed and recreated by Jacques Fath, who told her:

“We already have a Simone; you look to me like a Bettina”

Bettina was invited by Christian Dior to join his fashion house which she refused, choosing instead to work for Fath.

Jacques Fath in studio with Bettina Graziani, 1950 via

Bettina Graziani in Jacques Fath Dress, 1949 via

Very Sophisticated Fashion Photography by Georges Dambier

Georges Dambier did not conform to the standard technique of taking fashion pictures, with models standing emotionless and seemingly indifferent to the camera. Instead, he showed models smiling, laughing and often in action. His models were surrounded by local people in a market place in Marrakech, or in a village in Corsica, or – and above all – in his beloved Paris.

Georges Dambier Marie Helene Arnaud the red fish Magazine Elle 1957 via

Georges Dambier Girl umbrella Concorde Place via

Sophie Malgat Litvak in Jacques Fath Coat, photographed by George Dambier for ELLE, 1953 via

Portrait of Brigitte Bardot by Georges Dambier, 1954 via

Georges Dambier Marie Helene Arnaud, Antibes Mirror  via

Ivy Nicholson in Jacques Fath Dress, photographed by Georges Dambier for Nouveau Femina, 1954 via

Amazing Photos of Rita Hayworth & Prince Aly Khan Wedding (1948)

In 1948, at the height of her fame, Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth left her film career to marry Prince Aly Khan, a son of Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, the leader of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. Because Hayworth was already one of the most well-known celebrities in the world, the courtship and the wedding received enormous press coverage around the world.

They were married on May 27, 1949. Rita Hayworth wore a Jacques Fath dress as her wedding dress. The wedding marked the first time a Hollywood actress became a princess.

On December 28, 1949, Hayworth gave birth to the couple’s only daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan.

Though Hayworth was anxious to start a new life abroad, away from Hollywood, Aly Khan’s flamboyant lifestyle and duties proved too difficult for Hayworth. She struggled to fit in with his friends, and found it difficult to learn French. Aly Khan was also known in circles as a playboy, and it was suspected that he had been unfaithful to Hayworth during the marriage. In 1951, Hayworth set sail with her two daughters for New York. Although the couple did reconcile for a short time, they officially divorced by 1953.

Rita Hayworth on her wedding day, 1948 via

 Rita Hayworth wore a Jacques Fath dress for her wedding to Prince Aly Khan via

Rita Hayworth riding in a car with her husband Ali Khan after their wedding at Vallauris to the reception at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

Rita Hayworth at Chateau de l’Horizon with Prince Aga Khan and his fourth wife, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

During the wedding reception of Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

During the wedding reception of Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon their initials float in the pool, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

Advertisement for Casana Perfume (1950)

Jacques Fath, Advertisement for Casana Perfume, 1950 via

Advertisement for Casana Perfume (1952)

Jacques Fath, Advertisement for Casana Perfume, 1952 via

Jacques Fath Dresses Photographed by Willy Maywald (1951)

Stella Tenbrook in Jacques Fath Evening Dress, photographed by Willy Maywald, 1951 via

Jacques Fath, Dress, photographed by Willy Maywald, 1951 via

Richard Avedon & His Amazing Stylish Muse Dovima

Dovima (1927-1990) was reputed to be the highest-paid model of her time. Richard Avedon (1923 – 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that:

“his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America’s image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century”

Dovima was the muse of Richard Avedon who depicted her, in a legendary photograph posing in a Christian Dior evening dress with elephants from the Cirque d’Hiver, Paris, in 1955.

In 2010, a record price of £719,000 was achieved at Christie’s for a unique seven-foot-high print of the photo. This particular print, the largest of this image, was made in 1978 for Avedon’s fashion retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and was bought by Maison Christian Dior.

 

Richard Avedon, Dovima with elephants,

evening dress by Christian Dior, Cirque d Hiver, August 1955 via

 

Richard Avedon, Dovima with elephants,

evening dress by Christian Dior, Cirque d’Hiver, August 1955 via

Dovima, dress by Claire McCardell, Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt, January 1951 via

Richard Avedon, Dovima dress by Claire McCardell, Egypt, January 1952 via

Richard Avedon, Dovima, evening dress by Jacques Fath, Paris, August 1950 via

Elegant Vintage Fashion Photos: 1950s Veiled Hats

Irving Penn, Model Jean Patchett in black and white hat with veil, scarf and top, Vogue, 1950 via

Jacques Fath, Hat with Veil, photographed by Willy Maywald, 1951

Lillian Marcuson in Lily Dache hat, photo by Milton Greene, 1951 via

Mary Jane Russell photo by Larry Gordon, 1952 via

Ivy Nicholson © Room wearing Givenchy’s stiff-veiled circlet, Photo Nat Farbman, 1952 via

Bettina Graziani Photo by Georges Dambier via