CULTURE

Detroit Swagger

A new exhibit highlights Bruce Weber’s love of the Motor City.


Bruce Weber Majik Touch Dance Company

When Bruce Weber traveled to Detroit in 2006 with Kate Moss to shoot a 54-page fashion story for W, he quickly connected to the life of the Motor City. “He shone this light on the people of Detroit,” says Nancy Barr, the photography curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which from June 20 to September 7 is exhibiting about 80 of Weber’s photographs—among them images of first daughter of soul Aretha Franklin, longtime resident Patti Smith, and lesser known local legends. Weber, who recently returned to shoot a campaign for Shinola, the Detroit-based watch and leather goods company, “really dug into what we’re all about here,” Barr says.