The ’90s: A Love Letter To Fashion’s Favourite Decade

Currently obsessing over the ’90s? This is the perfect coffee table book to peruse …

“A few years ago, I started going through my storage and archives. I ended up choosing images I love – many outtakes from sittings, some of which had been published, and some behind-the-scenes of those shoots,” explains Paris-based photographer Pamela Hanson, whose latest book captures the ultra-feminine and adventurous spirit of the ’90s. 

There are gorgeous images taken from editorials for fashion magazines including Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Porter, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, GQ, Fashion Book, InStyle, Town and Country, as well as candid, un-self-conscious moments. All illustrate Hanson’s prowess as a photographer.

Having worked as an assistant to the legendary Arthur Elgort before breaking out on her own, Hanson is best known for her female gaze, and for capturing vibrant, energetic images of beautiful girls having fun. Texture, light and emotion play a key role in her documentary-style work. What resonates is the comfort and connection she obviously felt while working with her subjects.

Integral to her work are photographs of her muses and supermodels of the era, including Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigová, Milla Jovovich, Kristen McMenamy, Carla Bruni, Stephanie Seymour and many more. All images seem fresh and still relevant. 

She loved to spend time with the supers and has anecdotes for everyone. She describes Kate Moss as “a minx. She was that funny, English kind of quirky, but really cute.” How Hanson portrayed the supers and Moss in particular is quite different from her contemporary, the late British photographer Corinne Day, whose work was unpolished and raw in a more grungy aesthetic.

In contrast Hanson’s images are exuberant and reflective of the era’s nonchalance. Flicking through the book you’ll see a lot of espressos, wine glasses and cigarettes – all unfiltered and fabulous. As Hanson explained, she worked at a time when shoots comprised a photographer, model and stylist with a suitcase of clothes, rather than today’s huge productions. 

This book – her first published in the last 20 years – is a nostalgic time capsule of one of the most important decades in fashion, saying in Vogue; “It was the time, photography-wise, before everything went digital – but also it was a moment of freedom and innocence.”

Pamela Hanson: The ‘90s, Foreword by Lisa McCormick Love, Rizzoli, €75.

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