With bold curves, vibrant color, and sensual rhythm, Bernard Villemot’s 1979 poster for Bally distills fashion advertising into pure graphic poetry. Titled “Les Jambes” (“The Legs”), this piece is among Villemot’s most celebrated creations, embodying the refined glamour of Bally footwear through a minimalist yet electrifying composition.
The poster presents a striking visual harmony: three elongated, stylized legs—one clad in pink, another in scarlet, and the third in earth tones—stride confidently across a jet-black background. Each leg, adorned with a sleek Bally shoe or high heel, is more than a fashion illustration: it’s a statement of movement, identity, and allure. With a few well-placed curves and color blocks, Villemot transforms legs into lines of dance, grace, and desire.
A master of modern poster art, Bernard Villemot (1911–1989) brought the language of modernism and the influence of Matisse into the world of commercial design. His collaboration with Bally—Switzerland’s premier luxury shoemaker—lasted decades and produced some of the most memorable advertising images of the 20th century.
“Les Jambes” is not only a tribute to timeless fashion but also to Villemot’s uncanny ability to say more with less. His use of negative space, fluid geometry, and bold silhouettes makes this poster a pop-modernist icon, as seductive today as when it first appeared in the streets of Paris in 1979.
A celebration of style, motion, and the confident stride, Villemot’s Bally legs remain an enduring emblem of haute elegance.
Fashion - Advertising - France
Good condition, creases, small tears
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