The Carole Lambert gallery in Paris presents Polaroids, the first French exhibition to spotlight the radical visual language of Donna Trope, the American-born, London-raised image-maker whose work has long challenged the boundaries of fashion photography. On view from June 6th to September 24th, 2025, the show—curated by Fany Dupêchez—offers an intimate look at Donna Trope’s creative process through a striking selection of previously unseen Polaroids.
Far from finished products, these Polaroids by Donna Trope—a name synonymous with visual provocation—reveal the raw, unscripted energy behind her shoots. Whether used for lighting tests or captured during spontaneous moments, the images function as what the Donna Trope photographer herself has described as an “alter ego”—truthful outtakes that often say more than the polished final shot.
Known for her unapologetic aesthetic, Donna Trope uses the Polaroid as a space for experimentation. This tactile, immediate format becomes both personal diary and cultural critique—a gritty counter-narrative to fashion’s often perfected surface. The exhibition at Carole Lambert Gallery repositions the Polaroid as a medium of truth and subversion, perfectly aligned with the signature style that has defined Donna Trope photographer for decades.
In reframing the overlooked and the in-between, Donna Trope once again proves her status not only as a powerful image-maker but as a storyteller who dares to expose what usually stays unseen.
Photography by DONNA TROPE