--- title: Fashion Photography by Gordon Parks: Rare Photos description: TIME takes a look at the photography of the groundbreaking and multi-talented artist Gordon Parks canonical: https://time.com/3878981/beyond-boundaries-gordon-parks/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-11-30T11:00:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:46.705Z og:title: Fashion Photography by Gordon Parks: Rare Photos og:description: Rare photos from the LIFE archives og:url: https://time.com/3878981/beyond-boundaries-gordon-parks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7c20a86028949f5/69884b44524fc0d831df21ba/140206-gordon-parks-fashion-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Gordon Parks Fashion Photography og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Fashion Photography by Gordon Parks: Rare Photos twitter:description: Rare photos from the LIFE archives twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7c20a86028949f5/69884b44524fc0d831df21ba/140206-gordon-parks-fashion-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Beyond Boundaries: Gordon Parks’ Fashion Photography > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Nov 30, 2012 11:00 AM UTC  Models showing off five fabulous ball gowns designed by Jacques Fath at fashion show. Models showing off five fabulous ball gowns designed by Jacques Fath at fashion show. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Nov 30, 2012 11:00 AM UTC Legendary photographer Gordon Parks, who would have been 100 today, was a master of contradictions. His fashion photography captured the beauty and opulence of the 1940s and ’50s elite with carefully orchestrated framing and composition. On the other hand, Parks was renowned for his stirring images of [poverty](http://life.time.com/history/gordon-parks-classic-photo-essay-flavio/#1) and racial discrimination, which were inescapable aspects of the time period. Parks’ ability to seamlessly transition from the slums of Chicago’s South Side to the sets of French fashion shoots not only demonstrated his wide-ranging scope of talent, but also his knack for coercing even the most private subjects to pose in front of his lens. Looking back on Parks’ diverse and expansive catalog of creative works — including countless photo collections; popular films like _Shaft_ and _The Super Cops_; three memoirs and an autobiographical novel, _The Learning Tree_; several books of poetry; a ballet (_Martin_, dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr.); and musical compositions — it seems possible that the artist lived several lifetimes, instead of just 93 years (he passed away in 2006). Metaphorically, he did, climbing his way from a life of poverty to that of success. (**MORE:** [Gordon Parks on poverty’s dire toll](http://life.time.com/history/gordon-parks-classic-photo-essay-flavio/#1)) Parks was the youngest of 15 brothers and sisters, born on Nov. 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kan. The son of a tenant farmer, he attended a segregated elementary school and was told by a teacher that he should let go of his dreams of higher education. When Parks was 14, his mother died and he was sent to Saint Paul, Minn., to live with family. Shortly thereafter, he found himself turned out on the streets, learning to survive on his own, while facing discrimination and poverty at every turn. Parks worked odd jobs to get by. He was a piano player in a Minnesota brothel, as well as a busboy and waiter. In 1938, he was inspired to take up photography after seeing images in a discarded magazine. He bought his first camera at a pawn shop, and within months his pictures were exhibited in Minneapolis. His success as a photographer only blossomed from there. After moving to Chicago, Parks began to produce society and fashion photographs, while also pursuing his passion of documenting the lives of African Americans. He [told](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/arts/design/08parks.html?pagewanted=all) an interviewer in 1999, “I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera.” Indeed, his most famous images from this time were from a series documenting Chicago’s black ghetto — a collection that earned him a fellowship with the Farm Security Administration and catapulted his career. Parks’ talent eventually led him to New York City, where, despite the racial prejudice of the time, he was hired by _Vogue_’s Alexander Liberman to shoot a collection of evening gowns. He continued to freelance for _Vogue_ for several years, developing a unique style that was realistic, romantic and full of movement. In 1948, Parks was hired as the first African-American staff photographer and writer for LIFE, where he produced works on subjects ranging from fashion and sports to poverty and racial discrimination. He remained at the magazine for 23 years, becoming one of the title’s most popular and influential photographers. There is an ease to Parks’ images that showcases his affability and unique perspective. Despite the hardships that many blacks endured during the time, Parks’ opportunities gave him leave to create both images of undeniable beauty — as seen here, in these rare fashion photographs from LIFE — and concrete social importance. **PHOTOS:** [_Field of Vision_: The Early Works of Gordon Parks](http://lightbox.time.com/2011/09/28/fields-of-vision-the-early-work-of-gordon-parks/#1)  French fashion model Simone Bodin posing at tannery in leather suit printed in small neat design. 1956. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Model wearing nursemaid's kerchief which has a stiff coronet and strings that go under hair to tie through a loop at its back by Lilly Dache. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Models showing off five fabulous ball gowns designed by Jacques Fath at fashion show. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Paris Fashions: Sheath cocktail dress by Balenciaga made from hundreds of scalloped bands of silk chiffon sewn on a straight slip. 1950. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dress and hat with multi-colored rosettes made of ribbon on each side, by Cuban designer Adolfo. 1958. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Model wearing dusting cap of calico on felt base which wraps head like the scarf worn by a housewife at chores. 1952. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  French fashion models (previously unpublished) 1950. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ladies modeling tie on collars and matching barrel muffs made of natural fox skin, selling for $40-$50\. 1952. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sheath dress topped by ostrich feathers by California designer. 1959. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Evening dress with yellow rose design, by Cuban designer, Ferreras. 1958. 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