Connolly celebrates Norman Parkinson with legendary photo exhibit

It only seems fitting that Connolly, one of the most innovative and elegant fashion shops to open its doors in London, has adorned its walls with the working prints from Norman Parkinson, one of the best-known and revolutionary fashion photographers of the 20th Century…

Strike a pose

Quirky and humorous — in a completely charming way — Norman ‘Parks’ Parkinson started to get recognition in his early years of black-and-white photography, when he began injecting these personal characteristics into his photos, which was in stark contrast of the more serious and stiff images at the time. This innovative style of photography gained the attention of numerous fashion magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, and Vogue, and further established himself as not only a leading photographer but also an archivist of the ever-changing fashion industry. On loan from the Norman Parkinson Archive, the majority of the prints on exhibit at Connolly come from his time at Vogue during the 1940s and ’50s and feature the original annotations from Parkinson and picture editors, pre-digital re-touching images, and even the Vogue stamps on the reverse. The collection will be on exhibit until September, and limited-edition prints are available for purchase, with prices ranging from 2,000 to 9,000 pounds.