#ThrowbackFashion Mainbocher Corset, Paris, 1939 by Horst P. Horst via @VogueMagazine – September 1939

Vogue – September 1939
By: Horst P. Horst (American/German, 1906–1999)

Horst P. Horst reveals a strikingly sexy pose in this photograph, which appeared in the September 15, 1939, Vogue. Seen from behind, a model sits on a wooden bench, looking down through her arms. She wears a back-lacing corset by Detolle for Mainbocher. Horst treats her body like a living sculpture, and this piece is as much a figure study as an image of a quotidian bit of lingerie.

Horst P. Horst (American/German, 1906–1999) started gaining acclaim in the pages of British Vogue fashion photography in the early 1930s, after meeting photographer Cecil Beaton (British, 1904–1980). The elegance in which Horst captured his subjects made him influential among a generation of photographers, including Bruce Weber (American, b.1946). A photographer for Coco Chanel for over three decades, Horst was strongly supported by members of the fashion community, including the prominent fashion editor Diana Vreeland. In addition to his fashion shots and portraiture, Horst photographed landscapes, architectural interiors, and still lifes throughout his career. Embraced by the art world, Horst began exhibiting his work in significant art galleries as early as 1932, and continued throughout his career. In 1989, Horst received the Lifetime Achievement Award of The Council of Fashion Designers of America, and in 1996, the Master of Photography Award from ICP, New York. His has been exhibited at the Fortuny Palace, Venice (1989), the Louvre, Paris (1991), the Museum Ludwig Cologne (1992), the National Portrait Gallery, London (2001), and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2007).