  
Vogue's Own Boutique
by Mary P. R. Thomas
Sonny and Cher walking, Tom Wolfe seated but gesturing, Julie Christie turns her head and Baby Jane Holzer strides along the beach front adjusting her top. Action with a candid-like newspaper theme for the photographs that make up the pages of "Vogue's" new picture-column---"Vogue's Own Boutique". A brain child of Editor-In-Chief Diana Vreeland, it is executed, directed and produced by fashion editor, Carrie Donovan who, with Jack Robinson, has combined their individual talents and channeled them into a smooth working operation giving magazine fashion photography a new dimension.
It all started with the BB or Boutique Boom which has mushroomed into such a big business that an occasional picture dropped into "Vogue's" editorial pages was not enough proper coverage. Initially it began with one page of text but expanded to three and sometimes four pages with photographs.
For Carrie and Jack an ordinary assignment can mean covering eight to ten boutiques ranging from one end of town to the other--all within the space of three hours. Usually only one person is involved in their invasion of the boutiques. Rarely are models used which makes Jack's work a little harder. Celebrities and socialites are not accustomed to this type of photography, models on the other hand automatically know what to do. Shooting conditions are, for the most part, incredibly bad. There is almost never enough light inside a shop and since the person is constantly moving many good action shoots occur in darkened areas. Undaunted Jack shoots them anyway; if the roll is underdeveloped he can bring up an almost unprintable negative by resorting to one of his favorite devices--the negative intensifier.
For these rat-ta-tat photography forays he takes along four Nikon cameras and a Leica. "Nothing fits like a small Honeywell flash unit like a Leica," says Jack. Although, if it is at all possible, he prefers to shoot under available light conditions. The film he uses is Tri-X. Lenses range from wide angle to telephoto for the Nikons and normal lenses for the Leica.
The range and quality of Jack Robinson's work cannot, of course, be seen on these two pages. A photographer for the past ten years, he is widely known for his creative work in the fashion and advertising fields. In these photographs another kind of excitement can be seen of which he says, "Unlike the boutique sessions, I exercise total control; beginning with the 'look' and finishing with the overall picture concept."
US Camera Cover April 1967
Baby Jane Holzer 1966
US Camera article April 1967
Sonny & Cher 1966
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