ONE of the first photographers to capture live fashion is set to be celebrated with an exclusive exhibition.

The Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, is preparing its summer exhibition CATWALKING: Fashion through the Lens of Chris Moore.

Moore, 84, was one of the first photographers to snap live fashion when Parisian salons opened their doors in the 1960s and still produces images from every major catwalk show.

Spread across three galleries, 230 of Moore's original images charter the evolution of fashion captured through his lens.

The pictures will be presented alongside 40 original catwalk outfits in a unique collaboration with the world’s leading fashion houses including exclusive and unseen 1970s photographs from Yves Saint Laurent catwalk shows.

The garments represent era-defining catwalk moments from Paco Rabanne’s 1960s chain-link modernism to a Dior gown from Galliano’s extravagant Spring/Summer 1998 show.

Straight off the catwalk, direct from Versace’s 2018 Tribute Collection, which brought the original supermodels together in homage to the late designer, is a reinterpretation of the Marilyn Monroe Pop Art dress worn by Naomi Campbell in 1991.

Also featuring are seven Alexander McQueen outfits, including the golden feathered frockcoat from his final Angels and Demons Autumn/Winter 2010 Collection, and two previously unseen looks by Sarah Burton, designer of the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress.

Only Moore, as in-house photographer, was invited to photograph McQueen’s last show after his death.

An unusual feature of the exhibition will be a paper catwalk created by installation artist Steve Messam, acclaimed for his weight bearing bridge across a Lake District stream constructed from 20,000 sheets of bright red paper, which went viral on social media.

The ‘catwalk’ is made from over 5,500 pure white paper tubes. It’s another structural piece designed to be load bearing as a functional catwalk. The mass of tubes - up to 4m in height - wraps around the pillars down the entire length of the exhibition gallery.

Joanna Hashagen, the museum’s curator of fashion and textiles, said: “I am delighted that the fashion houses have been so generous with loans to this exhibition, a testament of their regard for his work. We are delighted to be able to present this unique fusion of photography and fashion in one significant exhibition.”

The exhibition will run from July 7 to January 6, 2019.