Gordon Parks: Fashion Photographer

In 1940, at the age of 28, Gordon Parks walked into Frank Murphy's fashion department store in St. Paul, Minnesota. A self-taught photographer with no formal experience in fashion work, he boldly offered his services to photograph models wearing the store's fashions. After some initial disagreement between the husband-wife co-owners, Parks was given the chance to prove his merit - an event that would prove fortuitous and guided the direction of his future as a photographer. With borrowed equipment, Parks made his way through the fashion shoot that would precipitate his career in photography. Unfortunately, in Parks' inexperience, he double-exposed all but one photograph. Luckily, this one portrait, seen here, was enough to showcase his potential and he was given another chance - eventually leading him to shoot all of the department store's fashions, in addition to local media outlets.

The first fashion magazine of repute Parks worked for was Vogue. According to Parks, Alex Leiberman, editorial director of Conde Nast, used to say to the editors, "'If Gordon dresses a model, leave her that way unless it’s something you want to question, because I trust his taste.’" Parks later explained, "That was one of the biggest compliments I ever had - for him to tell those top editors. And those top editors would never bother me. They would say, ‘Gordon, if you like, I don’t personally like it, but Alex says you do it your way.’ I would say ‘Thank you darling, but let’s try it your way, too.’ And I would try it their way, and Alex would pick mine. I tried to learn what good taste was.”

During the 1970s, Parks' focus shifted to new projects beyond working as a photographer. In 1970, Essence Magazine was formed - with Parks as one of it's co-founders and editorial director. The monthly magazine celebrated African American women - with content ranging from fashion, lifestyle, and advice.