Russell James Ten years behind the scenes of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Erarta Museum presents an exhibition of an Australian photographer who collaborates with the magazines Vogue, American Photo, ELLE, GQ, Sports Illustrated. He owns world-famous portraits of Scarlett Johansson, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman. For more than 10 years, armed with a special permit and a camera, he freely penetrated the holy of holies of the world's largest and most popular fashion show - Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

The unique artistic flair for which Russell James is appreciated by stars and famous supermodels allowed him to create live pictures full of contagious inspiration and genuine passion inherent in the fashion industry. Visitors to the exhibition at the Erarta Museum can not only see the backstage of one of the most grandiose shows through the eyes of an Australian photographer, but also, plunged into the atmosphere of backstage, feel like part of it.

A series of 60 works presented at the exhibition invites viewers into the secret world - in it the Victoria’s Secret “angels” descend to earth. The pictures are full of dynamics and genuine emotions: here is Candice Swanepoel peeking out from behind the curtains with an irresistible smile, Lady Gaga is worried before speaking on the stage of the show, and the brilliant Adriana Lima in curlers freely chatting with colleagues ...

In the photographs of Russell James, we see girls in luxurious Victoria’s Secret lingerie and in gowns draped over the Fantasy Bra, adorned with precious stones. And if on the podium in the center of attention of the audience there are always toilet articles, the cost of which sometimes reaches tens of millions of dollars, then the main protagonist of James's works is always a woman for whom these luxury goods are created. The author himself emphasizes that he primarily "photographed women for women." Over the years of working on the show, he repeatedly witnessed many touching scenes of support and mutual assistance: James often recalls how Gisele Oliveira and Karlie Kloss helped Min Xi after her fall in front of a crowd of thousands, or how the shocking diva Lady Gaga treated backstage patterns with your favorite cookies.

Russell James describes her work experience at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show as follows: “I have repeatedly compared my unique backstage access to this amazing show with the White House cleaner. I am constantly witnessing incredible historical events. However, in reality it is a story of personal relationships, mentoring and trust, the construction of which took many years and which I greatly value. Although what I’ve seen cannot be expressed in words, I hope that my photographs will allow you to get an idea of the amazing people and almost family relationships, thanks to which this bewitching show exists. I have always extremely appreciated the honor and trust shown to me. ”