RIP photographer Roxanne Lowit (1942 - 2022). Born and raised in New York City, Lowit attended the Fashion Institute of Technology before embarking on a successful first career as a textile designer in the 1970s, working for the likes of Donna Karan, Jean Muir, and Scott Barrie. After Lowit began playing around with an Instamatic 110 camera gifted to her by Antonio Lopez, and using it to shoot her own designs backstage at shows. Her relationship with Yves Saint Laurent would be one of the most defining of her career. Developing a close rapport with the mercurial designer, she was one of the few photographers admitted to his glittering inner circle, capturing both his muses, from Loulou de la Falaise to Nan Kempner, and the lavish parties he would throw in Paris and Marrakech. It was Lowit’s instinct to shoot the behind-the-scenes goings-on at fashion shows, however, that would prove to be one of her most lasting legacies—one born mostly out of necessity, she noted, given that the photographers allowed to shoot the runways at the time were predominantly men. Sneaking backstage, Lowit was able to capture another side of the fashion circus—a form of coverage that has now become standard for industry publications during fashion month. Katoucha Niane photographed backstage at a Geoffrey Beene show by Roxanne Lowit, published in Vogue US, 1991. #roxannelowit #90s #90sfashion #katouchaniane #vintagevogue #vintagefashion #geoffreybeene