Gelatin silver print by the legendary fashion photographer, who has captured the ever-fabulous Josephine Baker with two companions at  the historic Battle of Versailles Fashion Show on November 28, 1973, held at the Palace of Versailles to raise money for its restoration.  The event was initially intended to be a joint benefit, though by the time it unfolded in France with an audience of several hundred luminaries and the press, it had turned into a veritable fashion battle.  Unexamined out of frame but in apparently very fine condition.  Sight 10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm.), nicely matted and framed to and overall size of 16.8 x 12.6 inches (46.7 x 32 cm.). From the collection of Roy Halston. 

Conceived as a fund-raiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV's palace, in 1973, the Battle of Versailles presented an an over-the-top runway extravaganza, with five top American designers competing against five top French designers. An audience filled with celebrities and international jet-setters, including Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, and Andy Warhol, were treated to an opulent performance featuring Liza Minnelli, Josephine Baker, and Rudolph Nureyev. The American representatives were Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows. (Anne Klein was accompanied by her assistant, a 25-year-old Donna Karan). The French camp consisted of Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Christian Dior’s Marc Bohan, all of whom at the time were widely regarded as the most influential designers in the world.  Plagued by in-fighting, outsized egos, shoestring budgets, and innumerable technical difficulties, the American contingent had little chance of meeting the European's exquisite and refined standards. But against all expectations, the American energy and the domination by the fearless models (ten of whom, in a groundbreaking move, were African American) sent the audience reeling. By the end of the evening, the Americans had officially taken their place on the world's stage, prompting a major shift in the way race, gender, sexuality, and economics would be treated in fashion for decades to come. (Robin Givhan, The Battle of Versailles)

Roy Halston Frowick, known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s. His minimalist, clean designs, often made of cashmere or ultrasuede, were a new phenomenon in the mid-1970s discotheques and redefined American fashion.