From the 11th of February to the 22nd May, the National Portrait Gallery is playing host to ‘Vogue; A Century of Style’ exhibition. Curated by Robin Muir, the exhibit begins in 2016 and is designed to make the visitor feel that they’re flicking through the magazine. The exhibition is set up as a series of small rooms, isolating the decades as an era in themselves, and features a number of iconic images from the publication which best represent the impact and importance of each decade.

Heavily emphasising the British Vogue Brand and its publication history, a selection of 100 key covers of the magazine are on show in chronological order, tracking iconic events in history that impacted fashion such as the women’s movement in World War 2, a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, and the Princess Diana Memorial issue.
The Audio guide to accompany the exhibit gives interviews and accounts of key fashion eras from industry veterans and professionals, giving social context to the accompanying images on display.

Given that British Vogue launched in 1916, shortly following the suffragette movement, it is of note that women played key roles in the publication, for example the first editor was a woman, Dorothy Todd, and the exhibition highlights and praises female photographers while providing a detailed overview of the magazine’s development and impact.

Meg Painter

Image courtesy of Design Trends