Frame of Beauty
What’s a photograph? A beautiful landscape, a gorgeous model, or perhaps a dad playing with his kid? A photograph is the representation of a unique sequence of seconds kept in a camera. And yes, we’d all agree to it. But if we really dug deeper, we might find out that those are something more: the confluence of cultures, identities, and sentiments.
Bruce Weber, 1982
Being a photographer is never easy. It’s not a piece of cake when you’re trying to extrapolate what you have in your own mind. And neither - and - I might add - especially when you’re asked to understand and materialize somebody else’s ideas. Furthermore, like in fashion, the responsibility we’d have in our hands would be enormous. In fact, the way a label presents itself to the world can be as important as the garments it makes. Before purchasing anything from anyone, we tend to do our homework and analyze brands. That’s why the first thing we usually look at is the overall image and feeling the company conveys. And that answers to the work put in by the photographers, tasked with the job of creating authentic, resonating, and gripping campaigns that can make people dream. The job gets even more arduous to pull off when we’re asked to create a unique and original image for brands that project wide appeal and an underlying aura of exclusivity. Why? Because everything becomes more subtle than ever, and at this point, every detail makes the difference. In this frame, there’s been one photographer whose work has been so relevant in the fashion landscape of the 1980s and 1990s that we should reserve him a seat at the Hall of Fame table: Bruce Weber. Tastes are tastes and styles are all different. But here, it’s not about the ability to capture unique moments on camera. It’s got nothing to do with the lights and neither the angle. Generally speaking, what makes a photographer good at his/her job is the talent showcased in understanding what is that people want to see. Therefore, the first requirement is to comprehend the values of the audience, and consequently, of society. And that’s exactly what Bruce Weber has done.
Bruce Weber, Toronto, September 1987
The visual style.
Starting from the 1980s and continuing over to the 1990s, he established a peculiar advertising monochromatic aesthetic. Made of deep black and white, he infused his art with a sense of nostalgia that still had a modern take to it. The roots clearly went back to the mid-20th-century aesthetics when the classic Hollywood glamour was a synonym of timeless elegance and romanticism. The style altogether had something sophisticated in it, recalling the dramatic contrasts and emotional depth that color photography sometimes lacked. Born in 1946, Weber was clearly influenced by some important photographers of the 20th Century like Richard Avedon and Irving Penn. What he inherited from them was their ability to capture the essence of different subjects with simplicity and elegance. Weber’s style is not groundbreaking. History had already seen it before. But what’s interesting about his take is the modern touch conveyed in his work. Using a retro/vintage style to portray moments of life caught from the current world, places his art in the category of nostalgic romance photography.
Bruce Weber’s photography style, Courtesy of CR FASHION BOOK
His idea of photography.
Photographers are artists. What they do is not simply capture pictures of moments. It’s much more than that. Sometimes, as any kind of artist, they tend to be enigmatic in their work. Perhaps it’s part of their stage character or maybe it is just who they are. There are those whose work has a solid narrative thread and those who instead can be recognized only because of their peculiar use of lights, colors, locations, etc. Bruce Weber is a photographer with a precise way of working. Putting aside the use of black and white - which doesn’t make him the first in history - his fresh and revolutionary touch is given by something else. A profound and well-defined vision of life, portrayed throughout any single masterpiece he has ever conceived. The genius of Weber has its roots in the intuition of what the American society was like back in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s not simply a painting of the country, but rather a celebration of it. A celebration of the vision of life brought by the American Dream. His photographs capture an idealized version of America that is timeless and reminiscent of earlier eras. Rural landscapes, small-town life, and classic Americana symbols are crucial elements recurring in all his works. In a time of prosperity and growth like the 1980s, Weber realized people wanted to be inspired and believe that anything was possible. He just gave them all a portrait to look up to. The perfect family, the preppy look, and the gorgeous house became symbols of what being successful meant.
Peter Beard and Zara, Montauk, 1989
Then, as opposed to the 1980s, the next decade brought instead different ideas and aspirations to the table. Weber intercepted the urge of society to emerge and be unique and simply reflected that dream in his photographs. America was exuberant, exclusive, and free. Sex became a powerful tool used to rise and claim our own independence. But being independent meant being brave and risk-averse at the same time. And what better way to reflect that feeling if not through the power of the human body? But not just any body: the male one. What was groundbreaking about his art was proposing a vision of men’s fashion that was absolutely unconventional. Until that point, their figure in the clothing industry had to reflect how men were. Therefore, boringly polished, organized, elegant, and successful. Well, it turned out someone had other plans in mind. In fact, his work for GQ and Soho Weekly News created an exception in history, proposing for the first a new image of a man who was sexy, young, and bold. For the first time, men’s underwear were caught in pictures, conceiving an aura of appeal based on the sexiness of the human body. This adoration for the male figure fell precisely into a unique kind of photography called “Sexual Beefcake”, whose protagonists were no one but highly muscular, attractive men caught in revealing or suggestive poses. And that marked the birth of the modern man. Outlined as sexy but innocent and sculptural yet relaxed, Weber’s work clearly gives a nod to the gay pornography and Greek art.
Bruce Weber, 1988
Bruce Weber, 1988
Collaborations.
After his work became a popular feature in many leading lifestyle magazines, Bruce Weber fell under the radar of several fashion brands. Ralph Lauren, always synonymous with a dream-like exclusivity, found a perfect companion in Bruce Weber. A collaboration that painted a meticulous ideal landscape of the unattainable elites. “When people hire me, I think about the person I’m working for, not the company. When I started working for Ralph, I got to know his family. We had a lot of common interests — in cars, old clothes — so I began by photographing his world.” – Bruce Weber. And the touch of greatness that Weber brought to the cause was unleashed in the conception of the image of the “all-American” beauty; namely, the figure of those who were rich, beautiful, successful, and loved.
Ralph Lauren FW95, by Bruce Weber
Ralph Lauren Campaign, Barbados, 1986
Ralph Lauren Campaign, Barbados, 1986 If we think about the Calvin Klein of the 1980s and 1990s, none of the success the brand had would have been possible without the hand of Bruce Weber. Remember when we were talking about the new image of men, often wearing underwear? Well, who could have done it if not Calvin? The ads of those years are probably one of the most memorable examples ever realized in the entire history of fashion. Going hand in hand with those coming from the Tom Ford Gucci era, this typology of communication hinted at a male population that wanted to feel as sexy and desired as women.
Calvin Klein Underwear, 2008
Calvin Klein SS 1986 by Bruce Weber
In other cases, Weber not only took care of the visual aesthetic of a brand, but additionally, he helped it go through a successful rebranding. And that’s the story of Abercrombie & Fitch. The label was stuck in a transitional phase of its history, undecided about which direction to pursue. His work combined with the mentality of the new CEO Mike Jeffries, cleared the air and catapulted A&F into a realm of young sexiness and exclusivity. Once again, Weber interpreted to perfection the intentions of the board and created an image of a lifestyle everyone wanted to be part of.
A&F Magazine, 2004, Jeremy Bloom
Josh Slack, A&F, FW 2008
Sometimes, it takes courage to be out there in the open and stand for our own beliefs and vision. Bruce Weber taught us how to stick to what matters to us. Even if it means going against what’s usually considered acceptable. No one photographed men in underwear until he came into the map with his bold vision ready to shake things up. With a simple technique (at least on the paper) made of blurry black and white, he achieved what others never did: the ability to create connections, to fascinate, and to capture our attention even for a couple of seconds. That’s the true power of photography. Sometimes, words are just unnecessary. After all, who needs them when we have the truth captured in a frame?
