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Friday, November 11th, 2011

DVF, Vera Wang and Prabal Gurung’s

Favorite New York Times Images

The New York Times Fifty Photographs launch event: Michelle Smith and Prabal Gurung

Dancer in White. Irina Dvorovenko, of American Ballet Theater, performing Jessica Lang's "Splendid Isolation” at the Metropolitan Opera House, opening night, May 19, 2008. Photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Seasoned fashion pros know the value of a perfectly timed photo op. (See: Billy Farrell Agency and Patrick McMullan’s nightly uploads.) So it was an apt choice to bring together designers such Diane von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, Prabal Gurung, Zac Posen and Milly’s Michelle Smith to curate 10 photographs each from the New York Times photo archives. Called the Fifty Photographs collection, the selected images are available for purchase through The New York Times online store. Prices start from $169 for an unframed, exhibition-quality 11″ x 14″ print of DVF’s hand-picked “Dancer in White” or the black and white photo from 1948 that Wang selected captured at a “Modeling School.” Larger sizes are available and each photo is available either framed or unframed.

Chrysler Building, 2003. Photo by Vincent Laforet/The New York Times

Blue Illusion, 2008. Photo by Andrea Mohin/The New York Times

With shots dating back to the 1800s, it’s a treasure trove of electric moments. So much so, that it seems each designer smartly stayed within theme to focus their searches. DVF stayed mostly within dance and iconic NYC architectural themes. Along with “Dancer in White,” she also selected a beautiful action dance shot in blue taken at the Joyce Theater, an aerial shot of the Chrysler Building and the slim profile of the Flatiron building.

Wang tended towards fashion’s more cultural moments. Such as the repetitive imagery of a squadron of headless mannequins, the masked mystery of a runway model to a modern-day closing of a runway show.

Mannequin Army, 2009. Photo by Richard Perry / The New York Times

Modeling School, circa 1948. Photo by Sam Falk/ The New York Times

Behind the Mask, at Sherry Netherlands, 1965. Photo by Arthur Brower, The New York Times

All photos courtesy of Fifty Photographs Collection, The New York Times

For Prabal Gurung, his interest lay in nature and the skies. There’s an otherworldly glow in a July 4th celebration, Van Gogh-like colors in an evening sky shot and the majestic view of the Alps from the vantage of point of a bird of prey.

Afterglow from July 4, 2008 over East River. Photo by Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Night sky over Xingu National Park. Mato Grosso, Brazil. June 6, 2009. Photo by Damon Winter / The New York Times

Summit of Schilthorn in Switzerland. Photo by Damon Winter / The New York Times

Meanwhile, New York-native Zac Posen preferred to train his lens out of the city and on space-age worthy images both literal and unexpected. The violet color of the Eagle Nebula taken from the Hubble Space telescope is intense, as is the reddish oil slick on the Gulf of Mexico.

Star-birth pillars in the Eagle Nebula, also known as the Pillars of Creation, are here reproduced with more accurate colors. This image was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009. Credit: HST, NASA; Kinetikon Pictures

Swirling cloud of cold molecular hydrogen. Horsehead Nebula, 2009. Credit: ESO; Kinetikon Pictures

Coverage of Gulf oil spill 2010. Photo by Richard Perry/The New York Times

And finally, Michelle Smith of Milly had more diverse fare, although with an underlining culture angle. Elvis Presley is all hearthrob in a black and white shot and there’s more current picks too such as a Chinatown wall tagged with graffiti or a rainbow scene on Fifth Avenue.