A month ago I was very lucky to attend the opening night of the highly anticipated Vogue 100: A Century of Style at the National Portrait Gallery. Definitely a night to remember with champagne flowing thanks to Perrier Jouet, delicious canapés, an endless list of celebs and of course I got to see the exhibition in all its glory. If you still need some persuading to go then here’s a little info on this stunning exhibition.

Vogue 100: A Century of Style (11 February – 22 May 2016) showcases the remarkable range of photography that has been commissioned by British Vogue since it was founded in 1916, with over 280 prints from the Condé Nast archive and international collections being brought together for the first time to tell the story of one of the most influential fashion magazines in the world.

Decade by decade, the exhibition explores British Vogue’s unfaltering position at the forefront of new fashion, its dedication to the best in design, and its influence on the UK’s wider cultural stage during some of the most inventive and exciting periods in style, taste, the arts and society. Exquisite vintage prints from the early twentieth century, ground-breaking photographs from renowned fashion shoots, unpublished work and original magazines have been brought together in this first retrospective survey of the celebrated magazine.

Vogue 100: A Century of Style includes work by many of the leading twentieth-century photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Lee Miller, Irving Penn and Snowdon. More recent work by celebrated photographers David Bailey, Corinne Day, Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight, Herb Ritts, Mario Testino, Tim Walker and Albert Watson are included, reinforcing British Vogue’s keen editorial eye and dedication to commissioning world-class photography, as well as its role in nurturing new talent.

The exhibition also includes many of the faces that have shaped the cultural landscape of the twentieth century, from Henri Matisse to Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Damien Hirst; Marlene Dietrich to Gwyneth Paltrow; Lady Diana Cooper to Lady Diana Spencer; and Fred Astaire to David Beckham. Also featured in the exhibition are the fashion designers who defined the looks of the century, including Dior, Saint Laurent and McQueen.

Highlights of the exhibition include the entire set of prints from Corinne Day’s controversial Kate Moss underwear shoot, taken in 1993 at the pinnacle of the ‘grunge’ trend; Peter Lindbergh’s famous 1990 cover shot that defined the supermodel era; a series of exceptional Second World War photographs by Vogue’s official war correspondent, Lee Miller; a rare version of Horst’s famous ‘corset’ photograph from 1939, which inspired the video for Madonna’s hit song Vogue; and vintage prints by the first professional fashion photographer, Baron de Meyer.

Alexandra Shulman, Editor in Chief of British Vogue, says:

‘Vogue 100: A Century of Style is a landmark exhibition in the history of magazine photography.  I am incredibly proud of this collection of exceptional photography and of the whole concept of the exhibition, which shows the breadth and depth of the work commissioned by the magazine as well as Vogue’s involvement in the creation of that work. The National Portrait Gallery is a wonderful place for this show, which mixes portraiture and contemporaneous artistic style in the same way as much of the Gallery’s own collection. Anybody interested in photography, fashion, fame and magazines will find this an unmissable experience.’

No words can describe this exhibition but as simply stunning. Be transported back in time to the present and enjoy the beauty and celebration of art. It will leaving you feeling inspired and wanting more.

Here are a few snapshots that I took during the opening night, just to give you a little taster of what to expect…

This exhibition has been organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London in collaboration with British Vogue as part of the magazine’s centenary celebrations.