Girl on film
A London exhibition shows another side of Brigitte Bardot
Yet a new exhibition at the James Hyman Gallery in central London posits another landmark for French 1960s poster girl Brigitte Bardot: the first lady of the paparazzi.
“She was there at the beginning of the phenomenon,” argues gallerist Hyman, citing Bardot’s prominence in the cafés on Via Veneto around the same time as the director Frederico Fellini was shooting La Dolce Vita. That movie, as all good film snobs know, examined high society in this Roman street and first dubbed a celebrity snapper ‘paparazzo’.
This collection of shots, some taken for the tabloid press, others for slightly more highbrow outlets, still look great today. Timed to coincide with both Bardot’s 75th birthday and London Fashion Week, the exhibition proves that, while Bardot might not have aged so well, the scenes and styles still look fresh today.
Brigitte Bardot and the Original Paparazzi, 3 September – 3 October. James Hyman Gallery, 5 Savile Row, London W1, www.jameshymangallery.com
