Runway

A stunning collection of candid snapshots from Paris Haute Couture fashion shows offers exclusive backstage access during the heyday of a formative decade in fashion and modeling. 

Paris, 1990s: A last-minute fitting. Clouds of hairspray. A final swipe of lip liner. Backstage at fashion week, designers, hair stylists, makeup artists, and others swirled around supermodels preparing to step onto the couture runway. Amid the frenzy, photographer Kevin Merrill lingered in the shadows, capturing the commotion. Merrill witnessed moments of stillness, too: a model slipping away from the rush to lose herself in a book, or another patiently waiting while corset ribbons were pulled tight.

This striking collection from Merrill’s personal archives documents the rhythm and harmony behind-the-scenes at the height of ’90s fashion. The 90 black-and-white photographs offer an extraordinary glimpse of the spectacle, glamour, and craftmanship that defined this influential decade in fashion. Featuring a foreword from Cindy Crawford and peppered with reflections from renowned designers and models—including Oscar de la Renta, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, and Nadja Auermann, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour, Christy Turlington—this stunning volume immerses you in one of the most exhilarating eras of fashion—and one that endures today.