Classic elegance of Dior: exquisite models of the 1940s and 1960s on the streets of Paris

Willy Maiwald grew up in a family engaged in the hotel business. But as it sometimes happens, the young man clearly understood that his path had nothing to do with the family business, and immediately after school he left for Paris, where he made a brilliant career as a fashion photographer.

Willy Maywald was born in Germany and attended art school there. In 1931, he moved to Paris, where he began to actively shoot life on the streets, in cafes, made acquaintances with the creative elite of the city, began to shoot interiors at their homes, organized a master class on Montparnasse, and in general, clearly not bored. At that time, it could be seen in literally every part of the French capital.

In 1942, Maiwald was offered a job as a photographer in Switzerland, where he went for four years, and later returned to Paris again, now with the intention of photographing people. Instead of working in an ordinary photo studio, Maiwald decided to conquer the world of fashion and celebrities. Surprisingly, he got lucky almost immediately. Either the right people saw talent in him, or old acquaintances played a role. Anyway, Maiwald made a meteoric career. He has worked for the houses of Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, Jacques Fath and Jeanne Paquin.

At that time, pictures for fashion houses were taken exclusively in studios. Maiwald was the first to bring models in their incredibly expensive exquisite outfits to the streets of the city. It was so unusual and innovative at that time that the house of Dior decided to take Maiwald as its leading photographer. His photos got on the covers of famous magazines (Vogue, Vanity Fair and others), but Maiwald still devoted most of his work to collaboration with Dior.