Going through the archives: ‘Celebrating 100 Years of Vogue’ Exhibition

In celebration of 100 Years of Vogue, the Gallery in Chelsea Library had a free exhibition which showcased archived collections of Vogue magazines dating all the way back to the 1920’s until 2020’s. It was an engaging corridor with a range of different displays highlighting the Vogue covers at that period of time. I used this opportunity to see the journey of Vogue and I loved exploring the different archives and seeing how fashion has adapted. It was also interesting to see the history of what was going on in different periods reflected on the magazine covers. Check out my TikTok review here: 

Vogue Cover, 1966 Donyale Luna by David Bailey

This photo is powerful as it was the first Black model to be on a Vogue cover. She was a key figure in helping create the pathway for more representation of Black models at Vogue to be on the cover. It was great seeing diverse representation within the exhibition as this is so important for younger generations who are looking for active role models in the industry to look up to.

Vogue focuses a lot on the connection between fashion and history by raising awareness on what was happening in that period. Examples include photos taken for the Vogue cover that linked to the covid-19 pandemic, focusing on frontline workers. This is great by focusing on those making a difference and having a positive impact.

My favourite collections were by Edward Enninful who was the first Black Editor-in-Chief at Vogue. He is an iconic figure in shaping Vogue’s diverse representation by including a range of models and showcasing diverse talent. Edward’s recent piece he worked on was so beautiful highlighting 40 powerful women. It’s amazing seeing magazine covers like this and specifically women from diverse backgrounds who are all doing great things. 

His vision shaped Vogue and it’s truly inspiring to see the impact he has had. Ultimately this exhibition was really fun. The journey of Vogue was lovely to see and getting to look at different collections was so cool. So if you want to check it out for yourself, here are the details: