Alexey Brodovitch at Harper’s Bazaar — Why It Matters
Table of contents
Why his Bazaar era matters
From 1934 to 1958, Alexey Brodovitch’s art direction at Harper’s Bazaar reshaped magazine design. He fused photography, type, and white space into a cinematic flow that defined mid-century editorial style.
Design innovations
- Dynamic pacing: spreads sequenced like film frames, guiding the eye across images and type.
- White space as structure: generous margins and asymmetry that made fashion imagery feel modern.
- Photography as storytelling: championed experimental shooters (Avedon, Penn) and motion-rich imagery.
- Typography: mixed serif/sans with bold scaling; headlines often interacted with imagery.
Key collaborators
- Richard Avedon: fashion photography that matched Brodovitch’s kinetic layouts.
- Irving Penn: still-life and portraiture framed by austere, elegant grids.
- Lillian Bassman: painterly, high-contrast fashion images aligned with his “motion” ethos.
- Diana Vreeland & Carmel Snow: editorial leadership that backed design experimentation.
FAQ
Did Brodovitch shoot photos for Bazaar?
Primarily an art director, he commissioned and sequenced photographers; his own photography is best seen in Ballet (1945).
What should I collect from the Bazaar era?
Original Bazaar issues from the 1930s–1950s, exhibition catalogs, and monographs covering his layouts; condition and completeness (no page cuts) are key.
How does this relate to his teaching?
His Bazaar methods fed directly into his Design Laboratory; many students (Avedon, Bassman) carried the visual language into their own work.