87 THE 1990s In May 1993, an article by Jim Lewis illustrated with seven photographs by Sherman was published in the American edition of Harper’s Bazaar. Independently of the editorial department, Sherman decides to adress the subject of fashion and photographed herself in latest designs. The fact that the garments only came in model sizes and were thus far too long and too tight for her had a direct effect on the guises she chose to adopt. The silhouettes of the female bodies are cast in a highly unflattering light: the two-piece outfit by Anna Sui emphasizes and exposes a pair of prosthetic breasts (Untitled #275), and although the provocatively posed body of another assumed character (Untitled #276) is clothed in a Calvin Klein dress, the garment does little to protect the wearer from voyeuristic glances. Sherman adopted the same provocative pose in the Comme des Garçons campaign (Untitled #299) in 1994. Inspired by the photographs for Harper’s Bazaar, Rei Kawakubo, the founder and chief designer of Comme des Garçons, gave Sherman carte blanche to stage her designs and provided the artist with garments from all collections. Due to a lack of time, Sherman abandoned her original plan of working with models and slipped into different roles herself, but also used mannequins (Untitled #302). Printed on posters and postcards and sent out without further comment, the images advertised the current collections without explicitly depicting them. What elevated the images to timeless advertisements were the internal references to Comme des Garçons. The kind of response this unusual campaign and Sherman’s photographs met with in the fashion scene is exemplified by the collections of Japanese fashion designer Jun Takahashi and their publicity campaigns. To promote his spring/summer 2018 collection, he too used a postcard with Untitled #299. The image not only referenced one of his party dresses printed with the same motif, but also testified to his friendship with Rei Kawakubo.
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