Federico Garolla is a twenty-year-old journalist working for Mattino and Domani d’Italia – two of the main newspapers in Naples, his native town. He carries out hundreds of reportages for prestigious Italian magazines – L’Europeo, Tempo Illustrato, L’Illustrazione Italiana, Oggi – and for foreign ones – Paris Match, National Geographic, Colliers, Die Stern.
1950s fashion photography by Federico Garolla
In 1953, Garolla starts documenting the birth of Italian fashion with his camera. He takes photos of the young stylists in their ateliers, right when they were about to conquer the international scene. He photographs models in the streets under the curious eyes of people around. The services published on Eva, Annabella, Donna, Bellezza, Arianna, Grazia and Amica belong to this period.
At the same time Garolla portraits the Italian cultural life in a series of “photo-tales” dedicated to painters, writers, musicians, actors and actresses, but also to ordinary people living through the after-war years. As a matter of fact, he always keeps an eye on social themes.
In the last fifteen years, together with his daughter Isabella, Garolla works at the digitalisation of the archives and he takes part to national and international photographic exhibitions.
These fabulous black and white photos of classic beauties are part of his work that Garolla took from the 1950s.
“A Day in the Life of a Mannequin”, model Teresita Montez (sister of actress Maria Montez), photo by Federico Garolla, Paris, November 1952
“A Day in the Life of a Mannequin”, Sophie Malgat at dressing table, photo by Federico Garolla, Paris, 1952
Fashion model Sophie Malgat, photo by Federico Garolla, Paris, 1952
Model in summer wear by Gattinoni, photo by Federico Garolla at Foro Italico, Rome, 1952
Contessa Nuvoletti, photo by Federico Garolla, Milan, December 1953
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