Fame, Fashion and Photography: The Real Blow Up (2002)

Through the first hand accounts of the models and photographers themselves, The Real Blow-Up examines the breaking down of barriers, the '60s cultural melting pot and the explosion of opportunity and creativity for those fortunate enough to be part of the scene. Ultimately, everyone could be a celebrity - both behind and in front of the camera. Aristocrats, musicians, models, actors and even gangsters mingled together in clubs and restaurants - a world captured by the decade's newest stars - the photographers. The late 1950s was the elegant world of Cecil Beaton and Anthony Armstrong-Jones where the models were ex-debutantes. Armstrong-Jones was the first photographer to break barriers in photography - his pictures were cheeky and refreshing, a reflection of the fact he did not take fashion too seriously. His work was to pave the way for the new decade when young Londoners stormed the pages of Vogue, and new models Jean Shrimpton, Paulene Stone, Jill Kennington and Celia Hammond replaced the elegant ex-Debs.