Artist: Marleen Daniëls

Hahnemühle Rag print, size 45x30cm, edition of 10 (+ 1 A.P.), mounted on dibond with floating frame.

Marleen Daniëls (1958) started her career in fashion photography in the 80’s. Since that time the fashion show changed significantly driven by globalization, technological progress, social media and the communicative growth spurt.

In the 80‘s fashionshows had become a true spectacle, with strong link to theatre and film.

This change ran parallel with a radical new movement of upcoming spectacle-hungry designers like John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler.

In the same period Japanese designers like Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto followed by ‘The Belgians’ like Ann Demeulmeester and Martin Margiela questioned the current fashon system. Their philosophy had a big impact on the concept of the catwalk, transforming it into a form of intellectual manifesto.

The backstage of these shows was off limits. And this is where the Belgian photographer Marleen Daniëls comes on the scene. She pioneered in backstage photography. She started as a frontstage fashion photographer, but switched fairly quickly to the backstage setting because she could work more creativity there. In the period from the mid 80’s to 2010 she created unique images that reflect the creativity of the team, the excitement for the show, but also the vulnerability of the designer. Think of Stella McCartney -now a fixture in the fashion landscape-  who falls into the arms of father Paul after her first show. Each of Daniëls’ photos offer a unique insight into the hermetic world, the personality of a designer, the culture of the fashion house and the excitement before and after the show. (Thanks of Eve Demoen).