Art and fashion in the King Street salerooms
Christie’s King Street entrance beneath exhibition banners, with pink illuminated Vivienne Westwood lettering across the frontage.
This was a special shoot to be involved with. I was photographing for Christie’s ahead of the sale of Vivienne Westwood’s personal collection, bringing together art and fashion at the auction house’s King Street salerooms in London.
The setting was a large part of the appeal. Outside, pink illuminated lettering stretched across the frontage; inside, clothing displays stood among paintings, with guests gathering throughout the galleries. There was plenty to photograph before even getting to the talks and portraits.
From King Street into the galleries
The exterior gave the coverage a clear starting point. Vivienne Westwood’s name was impossible to miss, and the photographs of people gathering beneath it connected the exhibition to the street outside. They also showed the arrival side of the event, alongside what was happening in the salerooms.
Inside, the displays changed the feel of the photographs completely. A view through the doorways showed the clothing and exhibition branding together, while a single mannequin surrounded by deep red curtains offered a much quieter composition. Both were useful for showing how the collection had been presented.
A personal collection on display
Christie’s described the collection as spanning four decades of Westwood’s life and career, including clothes from her own wardrobe. The sales supported causes she had championed, including The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Greenpeace.
That personal connection gave the exhibition its context. For the photographs, there was also the detail of the clothes themselves: their shapes, surfaces and decoration, seen against the darker gallery backgrounds. I included closer views alongside the wider displays so those details had space to be seen.
The guests were part of the occasion
The guest portraits brought another side of the event into the photographs. Some included the displays in the background; others used the illuminated frontage outside. Keeping those surroundings visible helped place the portraits at Christie’s and within this particular occasion.
There was plenty of colour and individuality among the guests, too. One portrait brought a richly coloured outfit and elaborate headpiece together with a framed painting behind. It was a photograph that put the combination of art and fashion into a single frame.
Alongside the posed photographs, I included people looking around and spending time among the exhibits. Photographing through the clothing displays gave some of these views depth, with the collection still present around the people.
Photographing the talks and the room around them
The discussion photographs added another part of the coverage. A closer view of someone speaking showed their expression and gestures, while photographs of the audience recorded the attention in the room. I wanted both sides represented.
Wider views brought the galleries back into the sequence: people standing and sitting among the displays, paintings on the walls and sightlines through to the next room. Together with the portraits and clothing details, they give a fuller account of the occasion.
Being commissioned to photograph this collection at Christie’s was special. The mix of the King Street setting, the clothes and the people gave me a varied event to cover, with art and fashion running through the photographs.
For more examples of my work at receptions, launches and cultural events, explore my event photography in London. Please get in touch to discuss photography for your event.
