Our mothers and grandmothers were able to hold glossy magazines with beauties in dresses from famous fashion houses in their hands already in the 1990s. But in the West, already in the 1940s, both fashion photography and fashion photographers flourished. One of them was Serge Balkin – a famous photographer of Russian origin, who worked with Vogue magazine for more than 20 years. He was the author of many famous pictures for fashion magazines, including photos from this collection.
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
All that is known about Sergei Balkin is that he was born on October 5, 1905, and grew up in St. Petersburg. From there he fled to Europe, from where, probably, in the late 1930s, he left Rotterdam for the States. There, by the early 1940s, Sergey got a job as a photographer at Vogue in New York, where he was taken under his wing by the art director of publications Alexander Lieberman.
Most of Sergey's photographs belong to the period of the 1940s and 1950s. Many of them can be viewed, and their reproductions can be purchased on the Condé Nast website. Sergey was married to a Russian emigrant Nina Lin, about whom very little is known, despite the fact that she was much more successful than her husband and there are even more photos of her left. Moreover, she is the author of many different books-photo albums.
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, October 1944
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Actress Carol Landis, Vogue, 1945
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Model Bijou Barrington, Glamour, 1945
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, 1945
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, January 1945
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, April 1945
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, 1945
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Glamour, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Model Charlotte Payne, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Model Dorian Lee, Glamour, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, December 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Model Lily Carlson, Vogue, August 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Photo by Serge Balkin, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Photo by Serge Balkin, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Glamour, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Photo by Serge Balkin, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Photo by Serge Balkin, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Glamour, 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Glamour, December 1946
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Actress Bambi Lynn, Glamour, 1947
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, March 1947
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Model Joan Pedersen, Vogue, July 1947
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Model Meg Mundy, 1947
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Photo by Serge Balkin, 1947
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, March 1947
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Model Sandra Nelson, 1948
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Glamour, 1948
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Glamour, 1948
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Glamour, 1948
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, 1949
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, January 1949
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s
Vogue, 1949
Russian trace in the Western gloss: fashion photos of Sergei Balkin of the 1940s