Remembering Fashion Photographer Melvin Sokolsky

On 29 August, famed fashion photographer Melvin Sokolsky has died at the age of 88 in Beverly Hills, California. Born in New York City in 1933, Sokolsky rose to prominence with his editorial work for publications like Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times, and Vogue throughout the 60s. While never formally trained, the creative maverick made waves with his inventive and unique approach to fashion photography. Having joined the Harper's Bazaar team at just 21 years old it was his fantastical approach to image-making that perfectly complemented the decade's space-age and youthquake aesthetics, with his irreverent Bubble series being his most notable work. The futurist fever dream featured models encased in acrylic bubbles as they were hoisted above the streets of Paris as they donned the 1963 collections.

‘If you look at his work, not only the stuff I did with him, it wasn’t so much fashion led or beauty led, it was much more innovative’, explains model Twiggy Lawson in a conversation with Nick Knight. As part of SHOWstudio's Subjective series, the 60s icon recalls the times she's worked with the photographer and explains the imaginative techniques used to achieve the dynamism that defined Sokolsky's images. It was precisely his unique perspective to fashion photography that led to some of the decades most distinct imagery and is sure to be a reference for future fashion photographers worldwide.