GEORGES DAMBIER "The photographer of Paris in the 70s"

About Georges Dambier:

Born in Paris in 1925, Georges Dambier was a wartime pupil of the famous painter and poster artist Paul Colin, who taught him graphic design and gave him a taste for decoration, fashion, beautiful women and Parisian life. After the Liberation, he became assistant to Willy Rizzo, a talented photographer with whom he discovered a new art form, the subtleties of which he soon learned to master, particularly the use of light. In post-war Paris, at the age of 20, Georges Dambier photographed the exploding nightlife and worldly festivities, witnessing the life of the "Tout-Paris", its celebrities, fashionable places and glittering parties. Shots of Rita Hayworth in exchange for a permanent position as a photo reporter at France Dimanche launched his professional career. Although passionate about current affairs, the young photographer nonetheless preferred to capture glamour, and life in all its radiance and refinement. His taste for graphic design and his ability to render reality with rare elegance led him to fashion photography. In 1952, he was noticed by Hélène Lazareff, founder of Elle, who gave him a chance and published his first fashion reportage.

It was with his agreement and support that he launched the avant-garde concept of " touriste-photographe ". The idea was to take off with a complete team (models, fashion editor, hairdresser, stylist, etc.) to photograph Haute Couture models in vacation destinations such as Italy, Morocco, Corsica, Yugoslavia and Brazil. Georges Dambier captures women dressed in magnificent gowns in original settings: in the middle of the desert, in a village market, on a boat and, above all, in the hustle and bustle of the Paris he adores. He was one of the first in France to take models out of the studios, and he didn't hesitate to free models from fixed poses and stereotyped attitudes, while nevertheless defending demanding execution.In the early 50s, Georges Dambier opened his own studio.

In 1964, Georges Dambier embarked on a highly personal project, creating TWENTY, a monthly magazine aimed at young people and dedicated to fashion and culture, but this ambitious venture lasted only two years. His friend Maurice Siegel called on him in 1976, and together they created VSD, for which Georges Dambier was entrusted with art direction and created the famous logo.At the end of the '80s, Georges Dambier gave up the press and returned to his family home in the Périgord region to turn it into a charming hotel and give free rein to his passion for decoration, where he died in 2011.