The Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum, in Getaria, in the Basque Country, is presenting “Vivre sa vie. Georges Dambier and Fashion”, until December 13, 2026. The exhibition is dedicated to the relationship between Fashion photography and Parisian Haute Couture in the 1950s and 1960s.

Following its first presentation in 2022 at the National Costume Museum, in Lisbon, the curatorial and editorial project developed by Portuguese Fashion historian and researcher Anabela Becho, in collaboration with Guillaume Dambier, custodian of the Georges Dambier Photo Archives, now takes on a new dimension in the Basque Country. Part of the programme dedicated to Cristóbal Balenciaga and the legacy of 20th-century Fashion, “Vivre sa vie. Georges Dambier and Fashion” explores how Fashion photography and post-war Parisian Haute Couture contributed to the construction of modern imaginaries associated with female freedom and visual modernity.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, when Paris regained its status as the capital of Fashion, Georges Dambier (1925-2011) established his distinctive voice in Fashion photography, expressed through a sense of joie de vivre and a drive for lightness and luminosity. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the iconic French photographer stood out for taking models out of the studio and abandoning rigid poses and stereotypical attitudes, favouring real locations and a more spontaneous approach. With the support of Elle magazine — which promoted the image of an emancipated, dynamic woman, very different from other Fashion publications of the time — he pioneered the innovative concept of “travelling photographer”, producing shoots in then-unusual destinations such as Morocco, Brazil, Tahiti, Sri Lanka and Portugal.

His images reveal a playful and relaxed spirit, presenting a woman who is free, independent and self-assured. Among the models featured in the photographs selected for this exhibition are Barbara Mullen, Bettina, Brigitte Bardot, Capucine, Catherine Pastrie, Fiona Campbell-Walter, Françoise Foucault, Gunilla, Ivy Nicholson, Marie-Hélène Arnaud, Nina, Suzy Parker and Taïna.

The exhibition brings together 77 photographs and documentary material that highlight Georges Dambier’s singular vision, and is organised into seven thematic sections: Scénario: Fashion Photography Revealed; Real and Surreal; Balenciaga Seen by Dambier; Couture Spirit; A Woman in the City; Invitation to Voyage; and Mister Sun, Stay Awhile.

“Georges Dambier’s photography captures a renewed haute couture, seen through the prism of thoroughly modern fashion. In the work of this French photographer, time and memory are intertwined with Parisian couture and its tradition, enriching a vital account of one of the golden ages of fashion history.”, states Anabela Becho, curator of the exhibition.

HIGHLIGHT PHOTO:
Suzy Parker, Place du Tertre, Paris, 1953 | Tailleur: Balenciaga | Photo: Georges Dambier

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