Paris Fashions, Bettina Graziani, Sophie Malgat, Jackie Stoloff, and Janine Klein Modeling Evening Gowns designed by Jacques Fath 1951

Gordon Parks captured these models in Jacques Fath gowns with a camera, and the beauty of black and white photography is how it distills everything down to tone. It’s all about the gradations of light, a way of seeing that really emphasizes form and texture. Look at the gown of the model in the chair, the way those dark floral shapes stand out against the light fabric, like constellations in a night sky. It’s a dance between dark and light, a real visual push-and-pull that keeps your eye moving. Then there are the gowns with all that billowing fabric, so precisely pleated. You can almost feel the movement, like they’re about to float right off the ground. Parks’ work always reminds me of someone like James Van Der Zee, another photographer who found so much elegance in the everyday. Both artists had such a keen eye for composition and light. In the end, it’s all about capturing a moment and making it timeless, and Parks certainly did that here.