'Portrait of Mme Labourdette in a Suzanne Talbot evening gown' by Adolphe de Meyer

• Baron Adolphe de Meyer 

• Gift of Madame J. Henri Labourdette
• 1927
• Gelatin silver print on matte baryte paper
• GAL 1977.37.3C
• Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris

Wife of industrialist Henri Labourdette and mother of actress Elina Labourdette, Madame Labourdette is seen here in a Suzanne Talbot gown of orange-yellow silk and black silk muslin. The dress features a plunging backline with two flaps and a long gold and black braided fringe falling from the shoulders. The signature is notable too: Baron de Meyer's contract with Condé Nast was the first in fashion photography history. His work appeared in Vogue from 1914 to 1922 and then in Harper’s Bazaar from 1922 to 1934. Here his Pictorialist style is overlaid with a touch of modernity that suits Madame Labourdette's image particularly well.

Notice's author : Sylvie Lécallier