Exploring the Timeless Style of Terence Donovan: A Fashion Icon Through History

Terence Donovan was a British photographer is a well known figure in the world of fashion photography. His bold fashion images encompassed a 40 year career in the industry. He started his journey using what he had around - his backdrop was the industrial settings of East London, where he grew up. What most probably wouldn’t associate with high fashion, he made into a glamorous, powerful story.

Models were often juxtaposed in beautiful clothes against gritty urban environments - Grove Road Power station, for example.

What makes this image stand out is the positioning of the model in a well-cut suit in front of the foggy powerhouse. For one, you can’t forget this image quickly and two, it makes you feel invincible - would’t you want to own a suit that others associate with this picture?

Donovan was able to create very unique perspectives through high contrast lighting, bright colours and his exceptional skill for storytelling.

Through his use of the surroundings of London, he was able to implement a sense of artistic expressions - this image here for French ELLE of Christian Dior’s coats has a note of cubism through the use of strong light and existing shapes.

Once again - despite a strong and varied background, the clothes still take the centre stage and create a feeling - it’s not just about showcasing the haute couture, but doing so in a way that aspires to something greater than the ordinary, even if it is using the same ordinary to do so.

Personally, I’m always attracted toward something that makes the image a little quirky, unusual - which I always try and achieve through use of interesting, contrasting props, or using varied backgrounds to differentiate the image. Perhaps it’s my roots and love for cinema and filmmaking speaking through the photography.

Donovan was also very skilled in executing very simple concepts in a remarkable, memorable way. As pictured here - a beauty portrait of Nancy Kwan with hair styled by Vidal Sassoon himself. With overheard lighting, a simple background, the light shadows fall downwards, the hair in focus from both sides of the model’s face. The triple layers of this portrait is what tells us how much imagination it took to create with such simple, limited tools, showcasing the hairdo.

Pictured here we have a fashion image presenting a Ronald  Paterson Coat. A strong, powerful pose, the model covered in clothing, only her eyes visible, the angular elements of the coat taking the front stage.

The pose and the delicate light, with the combination of black and white colouring solely sells the coat in a  trendy way of the 60s fashion.

My favourite piece of work that - I assume both Donovan and French ELLE created together - is the editorial shoot from October 1966’s publication.

What I love about this series of images, which probably should be classified as collages as they merge a series of different themes and pictures collated together, is that it gives way to re-discovering using mixed media in the world of fashion and publications. As much as I appreciate this isn’t something we possibly could do all the time, I do believe there is great potential with ongoing changes in the industry to embrace the different mediums and techniques. We can see here that the pictures of models are moved around, arranged at different angles to the other parts of the image, with different themes across the backgrounds, including political (!) and pop-culture references. We might not be able to take such strong stands nowadays, but I think there’s a great unexplored potential for using more than just photography.

There’s of course a lot more that can be said about the work of Terence Donovan, but through revisiting of the history of great fashion photographers, and the editorial work across different magazines, I believe the creators and brands can find new inspiration for unique work that stands out and attracts attention.