Fashion Photography at Auction: A Rising Force in the Art Market

Fashion photography has peppered the lots of photography sales in recent decades, mirroring the growing interest museums and institutions have shown in fashion photography since the mid-20th century. However, the genre has seen a dramatic boom in recent years, with a number of landmark shows dedicated to the genre featured at every major auction house. Fashion photography has grown into its own, leaving behind its status as a pet interest defined by a handful of household names to gather a steady collector base for a robust and evolving canon of photographers.

When fashion photography first entered the auction market, it appeared as part of broader photography sales, alongside works spanning different genres and historical periods. By the 2010s, however, fashion photography began to headline major auctions, including Bonhams’ 2014 show “The Art of Fashion Photography” and Sotheby’s London’s 2016 “Photographs” sale. The Bonhams show showcased fashion photography from the 1930s through the 1990s, while Sotheby’s focused on modern fashion images from the 1970s to the 1990s, with standout works by Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh, and Guy Bourdin.

These early exhibitions paved the way for more prominent, standalone fashion photography auctions that garnered international press and strong buyer interest. In 2019, Christie’s hosted the landmark sale “Icons of Glamour & Style: The Constantiner Collection”, which featured iconic works by Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, and Peter Lindbergh, as well as successors like Chris von Wangenheim and Herb Ritts. The inclusion of both classic and contemporary photographers reflected the genre’s enduring appeal and its expanding collector base. The auction also featured unforgettable images of Audrey Hepburn, Andy Warhol, and Lisa Taylor, captured in campaigns for fashion houses such as Dior, Balenciaga, and Givenchy. Despite a sluggish global economy, the sale exceeded expectations, outperforming many other auctions that season.

On June 18, 2020, Phillips hosted “Tailor-Made: Fashion Photographs from the Collection of Peter Fetterman”, a significant auction described as capturing “a moment of perfect elegance in an imperfect world.” This event broadened the scope of fashion photography at auction by including celebrated female photographers such as Sheila Metzner and Sarah Moon. Top lots included Melvin Sokolsky’s “Bubble Seine, Paris” (sold above estimate for $47,500) and Ormond Gigli’s “Girls in the Windows, New York City” (sold above estimate for $52,500)—both achieving prices well above their estimates. These standout sales confirmed the increasing market value of fashion photography and the rising confidence among collectors in its investment potential.

In 2022, Christie’s presented the Susanne von Meiss Collection, featuring 110 rare and collectible fashion photographs from the personal collection of the renowned journalist and entrepreneur. This landmark auction included timeless and glossy works by photographers like Lillian Bassman, Horst P. Horst, Terry O’Neill, Norman Parkinson, and Ellen von Unwerth, dating from the 1930s through the 1990s. Many of these photographs were originally graced the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and campaigns by Yves Saint Laurent, reinforcing the genre’s deep-rooted ties to high fashion and luxury branding.

Several distinct niches within fashion photography have emerged through these auctions. Collections like Susanne von Meiss and Tailor-Made feature images which are timeless, almost exclusively in the crisp, sumptuous black-and-white that defined fashion photography for decades. The colors used are vivid, saturated, and dreamlike. The photographs highlight every detail; the impeccably tailored dresses and coats, the curled and coiffed hair dos, and the recognizable features of icons like Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, and Christy Turlington. Though the images span several decades, they are unified by an elegant style.

By contrast, Icons of Glamour and Style and the earlier Bonhams and Sotheby’s shows leaned toward the much edgier side of fashion photography. Provocative images—Lisa Taylor posed with a vicious doberman by Chris von Wangenheim, scantily clad models in Helmut Newton’s stark signature style, or candid celebrity shots with the grittiness of paparazzi photos, and Daido Moriyama’s tights images, among other sexy, metallic, and daring images.

Despite still occupying a relatively small corner of the broader photography market, these recent auctions reveal fashion photography’s broad aesthetic appeal.

They also highlight a critical factor in its rising popularity: the range of prices. While some works sold for under $1,000, others fetched over $50,000, making fashion photography accessible to new collectors and appealing for seasoned investors looking for coveted pieces.

In particular, the consistent high sales numbers for fashion photographs at auction demonstrate the growing trust collectors have in the value and return on investment of fashion photography. Notably, Richard Avedon’s “Dovima with Elephants” sold for $1.2 million in 2011. The Icons of Glamour and Style auction achieved $150,000+ results for works by Herb Ritts, Irving Penn, Peter Lindbergh, and Andy Warhol. Meanwhile, outside the context of dedicated sales, fashion photography continues to shine—Helmut Newton’s “Big Nude III” broke the artist’s auction record with a $2 million+ sale in 2022.

The increasing frequency of dedicated fashion photography auctions and their strong financial performance confirm the genre’s now-solidified place in the commercial art world. Each year, a more diverse group of fashion photographers pepper the lots of auction houses and become canonical names in the genre. At the same time, the established names garner greater interest and bids, breaking sales records. Beyond the auction floor, fashion photography is more visible than ever—in celebrity homes, major exhibitions, and museum retrospectives.

Looking ahead, fashion photography is set to become an expected fixture in contemporary art collections, continuing to gain visibility, value, and cultural significance in both art and fashion markets.

Jerry Hall, Vogue, 1976 02 | Norman Parkinson

Sold at Christie’s Icons of Glamour & Style: The Constantiner Collection for €27,500, €17,500 over high estimate

Lisa Taylor, Publicité pour Christian Dior, 1976 | Chris von Wangenheim

Sold at Christie’s Icons of Glamour & Style: The Constantiner Collection for €23,750, €8,750 over high estimate

Brigitte Bardot Smoking Cigar, 1971 | Terry O’Neill

Sold at Sotheby’s 2020 Photographs sale for £27,720, £7,720 over high estimate