BY NORMAN BORDEN | Fashionistas of the world, rejoice! New York Fashion Week (Feb. 12-19) is almost here — those eight chaotic, glamour-filled days where high profile fashion designers and brands send supermodels strolling down the runway to show off their new collections to department store buyers, celebrities and media people all interested in seeing what’s next (and what’s not). Hordes of photographers maneuver to capture the models’ every scripted movement. Backstage, models stay cool and composed, knowing photographers and Instagrammers are keeping them under constant surveillance.
But photographer Dina Litovsky is definitely not one of the pack — and when you see how she managed to peel away the protective insulation surrounding the activities of Fashion Week in New York, London and Paris, you may be amazed by what goes on behind the scenes.
To fully appreciate Litovsky’s point of view in this “Fashion Lust” exhibit, it helps to remember that these biannual spectacles used to be exclusive events for a select group: fashionistas and A-List celebrities. Not so long ago, before the camera phone, the rules of behavior were simple and strict. If you were privileged enough to sit in the front row, you were told to put on your game face, not lean forward, and make sure your legs were under your seat — and never, ever take photographs. Anyone who used a camera ran the risk of being ejected from the show. Unauthorized pictures might compromise the image of an industry that took pride in keeping information to itself. The models, designers and celebs didn’t want to be seen without their poker face on or with their guard down, which could ruin a carefully crafted image. But now, bloggers in the audience with digital cameras, iPads and iPhones can instantly post on social media what they see and feel, giving their audiences a very different perspective.
PHOTOGRAPHY | DINA LITOVSKY: FASHION LUST
Through February 26
Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
At Anastasia Photo
166 Orchard St.
Btw. Stanton & Rivington Sts.
Call 212-677-9725
Visit anastasia-photo.com
Artist Info: dinalitovsky.com
The fashion world was entirely fresh territory for Litovsky when New York Magazine gave her the assignment to go backstage to photograph the 2012 Spring/Summer New York shows. The editors liked her pictures so much, Litovsky got the assignment to photograph the 2013 Paris shows. The photographer says, “I wasn’t at all into fashion. I had to look at a copy of Vogue like a textbook. When I went to a show and asked what Marc Jacobs looked like, I got a stare like…who let her in here?” But New York Magazine hadn’t hired Litovsky for her fashion expertise. The editors recognized her talent and a unique style after seeing her work from “Untag This Photo,” her project on New York City nightlife in clubs, parties and bars, which captured social performances and group interactions. The photographer explains, “I’d become interested in how women react to cameras. There are no more walls between public and private lives and I was fascinated with how women are responding to this.”
Litovsky, who earned a BA from NYU in psychology and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2010, didn’t take her first photograph until the age of 24. Even so, she quickly found her niche by integrating her ideas and knowledge of psychology into photography. She thinks of her work as “visual sociology,” explaining, “I’m exploring how culture influences people’s behavior.”
Shooting “Fashion Lust” over four seasons gave Litovsky opportunities to explore and experiment. She looked for those intimate, fleeting moments that other photographers didn’t or couldn’t see. “There were probably 20 photographers for every model,” she recalls, “so the models aren’t really aware of who’s shooting what. Photographers usually want the game face, the beauty shot. But when I shot something else instead, some people became suspicious of my motives.”
In her search for an out-of-the ordinary shot, Litovsky would observe a model’s body language and look for any micro-gestures — telltale movements like a tightly clenched fist that belie a model’s smiling face. “The models are so composed, always guarding their image,” she says. But sometimes they do let their guard down — and when a model at the 2014 NY Shows let out a big yawn, Litovsky finally got the picture she’d wanted after four seasons of waiting and watching. Her use of off-camera flash separates the subject from the background and adds to the edginess. It also shows the influence of her mentor, Bruce Glidden, known for his in-your- face, take-no-prisoners style.
If you visit the gallery, you can’t miss or ignore the 40×60-inch image on the back wall. It’s a mesmerizing picture of a crowd of about 60 people at a 2014 Paris show, with about half of them holding phones or iPads. I see this as the photographer’s take on visual sociology as well as contemporary social commentary. Are these people here to see the show or just to Instagram it to their followers? By Instagramming where they are and what they’re seeing in real time, they’re saying to their audiences, “I am here and you are not” — or maybe just reinforcing their cool factor.
Litovsky explains that she’s always pushing to capture an image that digs underneath the layer of glamour but doesn’t ridicule anyone. So when she spotted designer Jason Wu with a bunch of well-placed lipstick kisses on his cheek and surrounded by glamorous models, she literally tripped over a guard to get the shot before Wu’s publicist was able to wipe away the kisses (and any trace of reality).
It’s the juxtaposition of the sober with the silly. And she was also in the right place at the right time to capture another unauthorized moment: a sunglass-wearing, long-nailed, flame-haired woman playfully grabbing the butt of another attendee passing by. Again, Litovsky uses off camera flash to highlight the main subject, darken the background and tell the story.
Fashions come and go — but work like this will always be in style.
Norman Borden is a New York-based writer and photographer. The author of more than 100 reviews for NYPhotoReview.com and a member of Soho Photo Gallery and ASMP, his image “Williamsburg” was chosen by juror Jennifer Blessing, Curator of Photography at the Guggenheim, for inclusion in the 2014 competition issue of “The Photo Review.” He is also exhibiting in Soho Photo’s annual Krappy Kamera ® exhibition, through Feb. 28. Visit normanbordenphoto.com.
