PARS.- Pars pays tribute to photographer of Italian fashion Paolo Roversi, portraitist of the Princess of Wales, Kate Moss and Rihanna, author of a vast body of work spanning five decades that is on display starting this March 16 at the Galliera Palace.
Roversi is known for his Polaroid photos and the superposition of colors, a dreamlike style that evokes, often with blurred images, the clothes, bodies or faces of the models.
“I know that I live in doubt, but I like to doubt. I believe that doubts are creative. Certainties are closed doors, they block everything,” explained Roversi, 76, in an interview with AFP.
His style was developed through trial and error, and even developing errors.
“Imprecise as something poetic and interesting”
“Some designers want to see their clothes clearly, of course. But others accepted my imprecision as something poetic and interesting, something that gives another perfume to the dresses,” he added.
Among those designers who surrendered to the magic of Roversi are some of the most prestigious brands in the world of fashion such as the Japanese Yohji Yamamamoto, Dior or Comme des Garons, with whom it has worked for decades. Or stars like couturier John Galliano, or Kate, Princess of Wales, in 2021.
“I was surprised by the worldwide resonance of that photo… it was very pleasant to work with her, a very nice and available person,” he recalled. “I even made her dance at one point. She danced and it was very nice, she felt free,” added the photographer.
Admiration of the photographer
Roversi is a declared admirer of the pioneers of 19th century photography. Portrait painters who made the people who stood in front of their camera pose for long seconds, even minutes.
“A long pose gives the soul time to emerge. And it gives chance the time to intervene” explained the photographer on one of the walls of the exhibition.
It is the first time that the Galliera Palace, home of the Paris Fashion Museum, opens its doors to exhibit a living photographer.
In total there are about 140 works in color and black and white by Roversi, who began his professional career in Paris in 1973.
The exhibition, open until July 14, opens with a tiny photo, the first that Paolo Roversi took, at the age of 10, of his sister in a gala dress, who was turning 18.
And it closes with a series of black and white nudes of well-known models, such as Ins de la Fresange.
Or Guinevere, a model who has worked for more than 20 years with Roversi. “When you pose for him you have the feeling that he is painting you,” she explained to the press.
FUENTE: AFP
