Duffy

“Duffy and aggravation go together like gin and tonic.” – David Bailey

As famous as the stars he photographed, Brian Duffy defined the image of Swinging London in the 1960s. Together with David Bailey and Terence Donovan, Duffy is recognised as one of the innovators of ‘documentary’ fashion photography, a style which revolutionised the industry. Their attitude and aesthetic iconified the scene, birthing the cult of the fashion photographer and inspiring the famous film Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966).

As Duffy put it, “Before 1960, a fashion photographer was tall, thin and camp. But we three are different: short, fat and heterosexual!” The press nicknamed the three photographers ‘The Terrible Three’, while Norman Parkinson added to their notoriety by naming them ‘The Black Trinity’. Duffy’s most famous photograph is the ‘Mona Lisa of pop’, the cover of Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’. He collaborated with the artist over eight years and exerted a direct influence on the numerous reinventions of Bowie’s image. It is fitting, therefore, that this new edition should expand on their work together with new images. This new edition of Duffy also features other, new images from the photographer’s archive, depicting both star and photographer in their prime.