Fashion photographer Lee Miller captured the essence of women for magazines such as British and American Vogue. Living in war time Britain, she turned her talents towards documenting the experience of women during the passage of World War II. On loan from Farley’s House, Miller’s post-war Sussex home, this exhibition shows wartime women as they have never been seen before.

Of the photographs in the collection, some evoke the urgency and resourcefulness of war-time Britain without being too explicit.In others, though, Miller does not disguise the wartime context of her work: defiantly, models pose in front of the destruction inflicted by the devastating bombing raids of the Blitz.

In her piece ‘Check Mate’, distributed in British Vogue in 1943, Miller drew attention to the difficulties of publishing colour photography in wartime. Through ‘Hats Assignment’, she urged the public to fight the war with fashion.

The Lee Miller collection on display at Dimbola until the 18th May showcases examples of her work from 1940-1944, demonstrating the attitudes of women during WWII. Brought together, Miller’s work will show how these women would not bow down to the harsh realities of war, striving instead to maintain their feminine strength with pride.