fashion photographer
Fashion photography is a genre of photography that portrays clothing and other fashion items. This sometimes includes haute couture garments. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking pictures of a dressed model in a photographic stu ...
and
photojournalist
Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...
active in the 1950s and 1960s. She documented the latest designs of prominent fashion houses.
Biography
Relang (born Regina Lang) was born in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
in 1906, daughter of painter Paul Lang and textile designer Minna Lang-Kurz. Her younger sister was the jewelry designer Anni Schaad. Relang studied painting at the Kunstakademie Stuttgart and the
Academy of Arts, Berlin
The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany.
The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...
. Her introduction to the world of fashion came after she befriended fashion photographer Willy Maywald and moved to Paris.
Relang began working for ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ' ...
'' in 1938, publishing photographs in the French, American, and British editions. Her work was also regularly used in ''
Die Dame
''Die Dame'' (English: The Lady) was the first illustrated magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textua ...
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
,'' ''Film und Frau'', and ''Constanze.'' Over the course of her career, she photographed the women's fashion of
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...
,
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...
, and Yves Saint-Laurent and reported on haute couture shows from Paris and Rome. Her photographs are known for their elegance, glamour, and use of lifelike settings that contrast with the designs being showcased. Models photographed by Relang include
Jean Patchett
Jean Ward Patchett Auer (February 16, 1926 – January 22, 2002) was a leading American fashion model of the late 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. She was among the best known models of that era, which included Dovima, Dorian Leigh, Suzy Parker, E ...
Elsa Martinelli
Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Described by ''The Guardian'' as a "versatile star of Hollywood’s international years whose work spanned romantic comedies, period epi ...
,
Simone D'Aillencourt
Simone D'Aillencourt or d'Aillencourt (née Daillencourt, 22 September 1930 – 23 July 2017) was a French model and talent agent. Her career in modeling, during which she achieved significant success, took place from the mid-1950s to the late 19 ...
, and
Suzy Parker
Suzy Parker (born Cecilia Ann Renee Parker; October 28, 1932 – May 3, 2003) was an American model and actress active from 1947 until 1970. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s, when she appeared on the covers of dozens of ma ...
.
Relang was awarded the
Federal Cross of Merit
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...
in 1972 and the
David Octavius Hill Medal
The David Octavius Hill Medal is a prize in photography established in 1955, by the Deutsche Fotografische Akademie. It is named in honor of the Scottish artist David Octavius Hill, famous for his Hill & Adamson calotypes, most of which were deve ...
in 1973. She died in Munich in 1989.
Collections
*
Munich Stadtmuseum
The Munich Stadtmuseum (German: "Münchner Stadtmuseum") or Munich City Museum, is the city museum of Munich. It was founded in 1888 by Ernst von Destouches. It is located in the former municipal arsenal and stables, both buildings of the late ...
Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...
*''Lo Sguardo Italiano: Fashion photographs from 1951 to today,'' Fondazione Pitti Discovery, 2005
*''Vanity,''
National Museum, Kraków
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
, 2013
*''Rich Pickings: Displaying Wealth,''
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (''Museum of Art and Design Hamburg'') is a museum of fine, applied and decorative arts in Hamburg, Germany. It is located centrally, near the Hauptbahnhof.
History
The museum was founded in 1874, fol ...
, 2014
*''Who's Afraid of Women Photographers,''
Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
, 2015
*''Silk gowns and leather jackets: The fashion studio of Erika Segel-Reinhardt,''
Historical Museum, Frankfurt
The Historical Museum (German: Historisches Museum) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, was founded in 1878, and includes cultural and historical objects relating to the history of Frankfurt and Germany. It moved into the Saalhof in 1955, and a new ext ...
, 2015
*''Regina Relang: Staging Elegance: Fashion and photojournalism from 1930 to 1980,'' Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen, 2016
*''The Invention of Press Photography: From the Ullstein Collection 1894–1945,''
Deutsches Historisches Museum
The German Historical Museum (), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans". It is often ...