Bailey’s Stardust Exhibit Debuts In London

David Bailey will be featured at National Portrait Gallery, London next month. Sponsored by Hugo Boss, the exhibition is the largest one of the legendary photographer’s work.

Highlighting over 250 portraits, Bailey’s exhibition entitled “Bailey’s Stardust” features prominent figures such as Kate Moss and Jerry Hall. The title reflects the idea that we all start off as and then return to, stardust.

Bailey’s Stardust is structured thematically, with images presented throughout a series of contrasting rooms: from the glamorous to the impoverished, the famous to the notorious. Bailey takes his guests on a journey of famous faces such as The Rolling Stones and Catherine Bailey and then in a stark contrast presents unknowns from his 1974 expedition to Papua New Guinea and moving images of the people devastated by the famine in east Africa.

Bailey, who is regarded as one of the first celebrity photographers, was born in London in 1938. His photography career began by assisting photographer John French. French helped Bailey land a job at British Vogue where he later met and dated model Jean Shrimpton. It was through his work “Young Idea Goes West” with Shrimpton that he gained popularity. Bailey is hailed as one of the key photographers of the decade, capturing the youth of “swinging London”.

He soon became almost as famous as the faces he captured on film. His energetic, raw, and sometimes controversial style captures the essence of his subjects. Bailey has been quoted in Vogue’s 1999 Millennium Issue as stating that his photos “…had a directness that other photographers’ pictures didn’t have. And they weren’t about me. They were about the people in the pictures.”
As art and fashion are both inspired by a desire to capture the spirit of their time. Hugo Boss has organized numerous notable exhibits and are proud to sponsor Bailey’s Stardust as part of this international program which has been supporting the arts for nearly two decades.

”David Bailey is a master in his field. Photography and fashion are highly intertwined and therefore we are very honored to be able to support this career spanning and unique exhibition”, says Gerd von Podewils, Senior Vice President Global Communication at HUGO BOSS AG.

Bailey’s Stardust will run at National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London from February 6th till June 1st. For more information please visit www.npg.org.uk.

 

Photo Credit: David Bailey

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