4 Tips for Collecting Fashion Photography, according to the CEO of Nicola Erni Collection, Stefan Puttaert

Since its founding in the late 1990s, investor Nicola Erni has built one of the world’s most renowned collections of fashion photography. Populated by iconic looks from every decade starting in the 1930s, the collection features acclaimed works from the likes of Richard Avedon, Paolo Roversi and many more.

Fashion and photography have always been Nicola’s passion, says Stefan Puttaert, CEO of the Erni Collection. The Ernis collection begins with a series of images from the 1960s and 1970s that reflect a time of cultural change in the worlds of art, filmmaking, fashion and music.

The collection continues to grow today, and in 2013, Erni opened a private museum in Steinhausen, Switzerland, to house the works. The collection showcases the history of fashion photography as a medium, but also reflects Erni’s personal style. Not only did she love flipping through fashion magazines in her teens, she also started designing her first clothes, Puttaert adds.

So what’s his advice for aspiring collectors of fashion photography? Artsy spoke to Puttaert for his top tips.

The golden rule of collecting any medium still applies to fashion photography: Follow your own eye and intuition. Nicola Erni got the job according to what spoke to her heart and gave her goosebumps, Puttaert told Artsy. Gather according to what speaks to your heart and open your eyes wide, go with the flow.

Erni, for example, is very interested in how fashion photography is an artistic and commercial product that represents the collaboration of key figures, said Puttaert, from designers and models to make-up artists and hairdressers, to set designers and, of course, photographers. This is a process that Erni finds interesting.

After more than two decades of collecting fashion photography, Erni’s passion for his medium remains unwavering. He is always on the lookout for upcoming names to add to his collection and finds them everywhere from magazines to museums.

For example, Erni found work by Australian photographer Emma Summerton at Mode a few years ago. They became good friends, and Erni bought some of her pieces. One of the main strengths of the Erni Collection is continuing to look to the future. As well as heavyweight names like Irving Penn and Mario Testino, it also features emerging artists including Summerton, Hassan Hajjaj, Erik Madigan Heck, Nadine Ijewere, Tyler Mitchell, and Harley Weir.

Puttaert notes that museums have also done an excellent job of sharing fashion photography in recent years, highlighting Style Icons: A Century of Fashion Photography at the Getty in 2018; Vogue Paris 19202020 at the Palais Galliera in Paris in 2021; and monograph exhibitions such as Steven Meisel’s 1993 A Year in Photographs in A Corua, Spain, today.

Fashion history fairs can also be a great source of inspiration. Startling! Elsa Schiaparelli’s Real World at the Muse des Arts Dcoratifs in Paris, and La Galerie Dior, which covers the history of Dior, are other notable examples, says Puttaert.

When a piece speaks to Erni, she feels good about getting insight from artists about their inspiration, philosophy, materials and techniques, says Puttaert. He advised other collectors to do the same.

Whenever possible, it’s important for her to meet with photographers and discover their art before acquiring theirs, says Puttaert. The same procedure happens with contemporary art, where Nicola likes to visit artists in their studios, [and] view their work at exhibitions, galleries, and genuine institutional auctions before deciding whether or not to buy a work.

Whether you’re into Bill Cunningham’s iconic street style shots or Richard Avedon or Irving Penn editorial classics, there’s a market for you. The Ernis collection features work from high fashion editorial and paparazzi photography to portrait photography and street style. Building a collection spanning various genres involves understanding them individually, as well as summing up their parts.

It’s up to each collector whether [they decide] to diversify and go beyond one particular genre, says Puttaert. The current exhibition of the Ernis collection at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach, Florida, includes works from various time periods and genres. Expanding the collection in that optic can present interesting connections between different genre fields.