In 1923 Erwin Blumenfeld opened a leather goods store in Amsterdam. It specialised in ladies handbags and the business went bankrupt in 1935. He had started off his working career as an apprentice dressmaker and would go on to become one of the highest paid and most sought after fashion photographers of the 20th century.

True to form Somerset House has succeeded in hosting a spectacular display of yet another exhibition focusing on fashion and photography. Blumenfeld’s work is perfect viewing during a languid summer’s day in which the home of London Fashion Week is taking a break from the runway. The show centres on Blumenfeld’s photography studio at 222 Central Park South, New York and is filled with more than 100 colour photographs spanning the photographer’s 35 year long career.

Blumenfeld had an eye for colour. His compositions draw you in, and they drew in the fashion community too. Blumenfeld shot countless covers for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar which are shown with original copies on display, as well as celebrities such as Grace Kelly. He would ask his models if they would marry him before photographing them in order to soften their faces and there is often a lightheartedness in his images which is lacking in today’s more stern and serious fashion editorial.

As always, Somerset House is triumphant in giving us an education into the work of another great fashion photographer. Running until the end of Summer, this simply can’t be missed!

Blumenfeld Studio: New York, 1941-1960 is on display at Somerset House until 1 September 2013