Barneys New York Announces Backstage Black & White Spring Campaign

Barneys New York, the luxury specialty retailer, announces its "Backstage" Spring 2011 campaign. The campaign features unique black and white images taken backstage at the world's most prestigious fashion shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Some of the celebrated photographers whose work is featured in the campaign include Nan Goldin, William Klein, Roxanne Lowit, Raymond Meier, Collier Schorr, Stephane Sednaoui and Juergen Teller. Additionally, Barneys New York commissioned backstage images from a select group of young and emerging photographers including Anna Bauer, JH Engstrom, Jason Lloyd Evans, Robert Fairer, Boo George, Nick Haymes, Leigh Ledare and Andrea Spotorno.

The "Backstage" campaign owes much to William Klein, the legendary American photographer and filmmaker based in Paris, who pioneered the idea of the backstage photo in the 1950s. At the time, his work was considered revolutionary, and he is known for creating some of the most iconic and lasting images in fashion. During Paris fashion week last September, Mr. Klein shot backstage for Barneys New York at collections including, among others, Givenchy, Lanvin, Nina Ricci and Rochas.

"It was important to me the campaign provided an intimate view of fashion through simple images, using the designer's own words so the viewer was able to feel a sense of discovery which is true to Barneys core DNA, " said Mark Lee, CEO of Barneys New York.    

The campaign also references various iconic advertisements from the archives of Barneys New York. In a revolutionary 1980s campaign, legendary photographer Herb Ritts shot graphic black and white images of supermodels Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour. In the 1990s, photographer Steven Meisel shot supermodel Linda Evangelista in a series of striking black and white newspaper-style advertisements.

Due to the cinematic nature of the backstage experience, the photographs reveal the collections in their purest form: as the designers intended them. Each photograph offers an original insight into the world of celebrated fashion houses including, among others, Celine, Fendi, Jil Sander, L'Wren Scott, Proenza Schouler and The Row. In addition, selected designers are quoted in describing what the backstage experience means to them. The campaign features the words of Dries van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, and Junya Watanabe, among others.