Dovima With Elephants, 1955
This photo was taken at a Paris circus by photographer Richard Avedon. Dovima was one of the most famous models at the time, while Avedon was among the most prominent fashion photographers of the time – making this photo highly popular. The peak of Dovima’s career was during the fifties, and this photo was part of it.
The model was wearing the first evening gown designed for the fashion brand Christian Dior by his assistant at the time, Yves Saint-Laurent. In a way, this photo marks the end of an era in the fashion industry, when models opted for haute couture, sophisticated looks, rather than the “girl next door” models that followed in the sixties and seventies. To this day, Dovima with Elephants remains one of the most famous fashion photographs.