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Fashion photographer Rohit Chawla on why Richard Avedons work speaks to him
Richard Avedons image of model Dovima posing with elephants in her Dior dress is a classic in fashion photography. This 1950s black-and-white image has a striking graphic quality and was a magic moment in fashion photography. I had first seen it in a book around 15-20 years ago and just recently,I saw it again at a retrospective of Avedons photographs at the International Center of Photography in New York. It struck me more the second time because I was seeing the original frame.

Such permanence is unlike most fashion images. Fashion photography,unlike journalistic photography,fails to stand the test of time because fashion itself keeps changing.
But Avedon’s pictures are different,they have had a lasting effect,and the picture of the model with the elephant was his most iconic work. He was a true original and he singularly redefined fashion photography as a genre of fine art.
I had briefly assisted him in the 1990s,when he had come to India to shoot the Kumbh Mela. Exposure to his style of working,in fact,inspired my collection of fashion portraits of Rabaris,a nomadic tribe of Gujarat. I am constantly inspired by him and my works do reflect that inspiration.