Elvia Gobbo: Fashion Photographer

Last Tuesday in my "Study Tour" class in New York, my professor brought in a guest speaker, Ms. Elvia Gobbo.  Elvia, he said, was taking a hiatus from her fashion design career and concentrating on her passion, photography. She first pursued her interest in photography during a trip to Mexico, where she shot breathtaking photos of humanity and architecture (which I highly recommend you check out at http://www.elviagobbo.com/).  Since then, she has found a new home at the end of fashion runways, photographing not only outfits as a whole, but their intricate details. 

Elvia, an eccentric and likeable middle-aged woman, had an intriguing, loopy energy and didn't come off to me as  the typical "deep and multi-dimensional," artist, but her photos capture these traits perfectly.  I especially like the photo below, which was taken at a Fall 2010 Pierre Cardin show.  I think it is a wonderful photo not only for it's attention to the garments' details, but to the artistry of the composition.  It's so interesting to me that in capturing the model, the audience, and the background, Elvia caught a royal blue and black checkerboard--(with the hat and audience serving as the black "checkers" and the background and jacket serving as the blue "checkers").    

Pierre Cardin, Fall 2010

Below are two more photos.  The one on the left was taken by Elvia of Georges Chakra's Spring 2011 line, Edition, at New York Fashion Week.  I love that it isn't a typical full-body shot, and that it captures the intricate back detail of the model's dress.  It reminded me of the beautiful shot, "Mainbocher Corset" by famous photographer Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann in 1939 (below, right).  He also captures the back detail of the garment and the lovely silhouette of the model.  Both pictures, to me, portray quintessential beauty and grace, some of the fashion world's most precious gems.