Rico Puhlmann (1934–1996) was one of the most internationally renowned fashion photographers, strongly influencing our image of fashion over the last four decades of the 20th century.

Puhlmann got his chance in the field of fashion magazines as an illustrator, before moving on to cover shoots and editorial work for the world’s leading fashion periodicals, including Constanze, Petra, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Fashions of the Times and GQ, first in Berlin, and later in New York. A fatal plane crash put an abrupt end to his career. His photographs document some of fashion history’s central themes: trends, including the legendary Berlin chic of the post-war period and American sportswear of the 1970s, changing dress codes and poses, and a shifting image of women and men. At the same time, the exhibition focuses on Paulmann’s work against the backdrop of a media world organised around a division of labour, where questions of editing, layout and journalistic writing play a central role.

A special exhibition of the the Kunstbibliothek – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin