Fashion icon: MEP pays tribute to model Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn in an exhibition

If you love fashion and photography, the name Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn should be familiar to you. This Swedish woman was a dancer, stylist, photographer, sculptor... But she is best known as the very first supermodel in history. From the 1930s onwards, the model posed for fashion magazines and top designers, making the front pages of the most important magazines of the day.

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie invites us to (re)discover Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn and her impressive career, in an exhibition featuring 170 works produced over a 20-year career. From February 28 to May 26, 2024, you can admire the Fashion Icon exhibition at the MEP, and plunge into the chic, immortal world of the model.

The numerous photographs, many of which are being shown to the general public for the first time, trace the exceptional career of this supermodel. We can see several magazine covers, such as Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Vogue... But also her collaborations with the most famous couturiers of the 20th century, including Christian Dior, Jean Patou, Madame Grès and Elsa Schiaparelli.

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Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn made the front page of the Times at just 38, traveled to many countries, created her own clothing line, was an amateur pilot and great sportswoman, sculpted... A jack-of-all-trades and an accomplished artist, she seduced the world with her poses, but also with her personal achievements.

The exhibition's chronological tour takes us through the major stages in the model's life: her meeting with Fernand Fonssagrives, dancer and photographer, her life as a Parisian model, then her move to New York at the start of the Second World War, her encounters, her influence on the world of fashion photography...

Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn took an active and important part in these photo shoots, imposing her mark and her expertise.

Come and discover this extraordinary artist with theMaison Européenne de la Photographie exhibition.