Domestic Stage: When Fashion Image Comes Home

Since the 1990s, fashion imagery has evolved from the aspirational and glamorous into an experimental genre created by interdisciplinary artists, art directors, and photographers. The domestic space or where we live has acquired a key role as an intimate setting for this kind of playful exploration, in which personal stories are told, and fashion shots gain authenticity. Illustrated interviews with or editorials on twenty-two established and newer image-makers offer exceptional insights into this phenomenon. Featured photographers include Corinne Day, Tierney Gearon, Clifford Prince King, and Tina Barney, to name a few.

For three decades, the fashion image has shifted its focus from high-end shoots to the idiosyncratic, Instagram-style practice of pictures taken at home. That home may be a house, apartment, or room--often, though not always, the antithesis of glamour and gloss. The Domestic Stage captures this fascination with the home as an "uncurated" setting for presenting an individual's private life and relationships, and for professional commissions with edge. How this space merged with the fashion image is revealed through the words and work of twenty-two such image-makers. They include the pioneering Nigel Shafran; International Magic, who created virtual fashion shows with Martine Rose during the pandemic; and Carrie Mae Weems, whose 2024 Bottega Veneta campaign truly came "home"--to show A$AP Rocky enjoying time with his children. Each contributor's commentary is candid and revealing, their images even more so. The result is a provocative new take on fashion photography and its transformation in recent years.