Combining light art photography and high fashion, these show-stopping, runway-worthy gowns are invisible until completed, and manufactured without physical material.

Atton Conrad sets the models in pitch-black rooms, then writes with lights around them, resulting in a flowing and ephemeral slow-captured creation that is only visible after each shot is finished.

Conrad has worked extensively in both of the fields found intersecting here, as a veteran photographer and light artist alike. “London born, Belfast bred and originally set for a career in science, the inherited genes from an artist father & actress mother prevailed. He made for the bright lights of his birth city to persue his love of photography.” He was, as it were, drawn to the light – limelight, spotlight, and lighting itself.

Of his work, he says that “it started with light trails, but grew far beyond that, as i developed my methodology and custom designed ‘light brushes’ I realised that the techniques could give me incredibly fine control over light and texture, to an unique almost hyperreal result. I have always been known for my classic lighting, and still take great pleasure in it, but this took it a completely fresh direction.”

Five years ago, who would have thought that what started as an offbeat visual culture weblog would turn into a full-fledged (but still and always free) cosmopolitan online magazine? After just half of a decade, WebUrbanist now has over five hundred thousand feed and email subscribers, not to mention over a million monthly visitors.

The constant curiosity of authors (including Delana, Marc, Stephanie and Steve,, with Kurt as executive editor) and ongoing diligence of developers (Jeff and Mike) has been crucial, of course. Still, at the end of the day, it would all come to nothing without you, the readers, RSS subscribers, Twitter followers, Facebook fans and Pinterest friends supporting these efforts. Your ongoing help sharing our stories with friends via email, blog posts, StumbleUpon and Reddit has been essential in building WebUrbanist’s audience and is much appreciated.

Much has happened over this long-yet-short period of time, including multiple major redesigns of the publication, from the underlying code to numerous iterations its layout and logo. We hope this ongoing evolution seems fitting, though, since the core topics we cover – architecture, art, design, travel and technology – all revolve around creative exploration, iteration and (re)invention.

For anyone new to the site – or at least its latest redesign – we recently re-categorized every single article in the archives. Each individual past post can now be found under exactly one of five main sections (per the paragraph above) as well as one of twenty-five subcategories , linked in various ways on every page, including via a new drop-down menu on the sidebar. We hope this helps make the ever-larger annals more accessible to new and existing readers alike. Thanks again for your patronage – now onto the next five years!

Fashion and advertising are so closely linked that it almost seems we could not have one without the other. These shots from the inaugural issue of Virgine Magazine marry consumerism with haute couture in a fantastically stylish and playful manner. Caution: one of the images below contains partial nudity.

Styled by Hissa Igarashi and photographed by Ryan Yoon, the series is called All You Can Get. It dresses gorgeous models not in high-fashion dresses, but in products and objects. From Coke cans to M&Ms to iPads, the unconventional “outfits” seem to be inspiring conversation about the ways in which we interact with the things we buy.

These consumer products are not simply being consumed as they usually are. They are acting as a covering for the very bodies that desire them and use them. It raises the classic question: do we consume the things we buy, or do they consume us?

Of course, the simplest interpretation is that the artists behind the shoot were merely creating a fascinating image. They achieved this by replacing high fashion with the kind of common, everyday items we would probably never associate with beautiful models.

However you choose to interpret the photos, they are undoubtedly visually arresting. They seem to blend the two main techniques of advertising – product-showcasing images and pictures of beautiful people – but recast in the guise of fashion photography.

Society and advertising have not always been kind to women; they still aren’t. From the subtle to the outrageous, vintage ads are a great window into the past that entertain, shock, and surprise. Here are nearly 40 advertising examples culled from the golden age of magazine and newspaper advertising:

(Images via bradruggles, oddee, oddee, bmpr)

Some ads have crossed the line beyond what society considers acceptable, and depending on your outlook, these examples are entertaining or disgusting. I for one tend to laugh at how ridiculous these conceptions are in light of today’s political correctness. I definitely think we’re heading in a better direction as a society, but we still have a ways to go.

(Images via foundinmomsbasement, blogsofrecord, theblogofrecord)

A quick glance at any magazine rack will identify one huge difference between the conception of female beauty; skinny is currently considered the ultimate body type (according to magazines), whereas curves once held a much higher appeal. One thing we still have in common with the past is quack techniques to achieve whatever body type is in the norm at the time.

(Images via flickriver, feministing, pzrservices, cosmeticservices, momgrind, womansday)

If there’s one thing your wife wants on Christmas morning, it’s a vacuum! Everyone loves a new appliance, or an upgraded look for the kitchen, but these magazine ads show a link between a woman and her appliances that is quite a bit exaggerated.

(Images via vintage123, vintageadbrowser, pzrservices, momgrind, christianmontone)

It’s interesting how some car advertisements clearly depict women as a major purchasing force in the household, while others appeal to men with deprecating messages. Some of the worse ads are more recent, oddly enough.

(Images via pzrservices, debutanteclothing, foundinmomsbasement, vintagefashionguild, picsdigger)

Early fashion ads used illustration to depict larger than life beauties, much as we currently use photoshop and airbrushing. It’s interesting to see the different views of glamour and fashion over time, and how a bullet bra can be the height of seductive lingerie in one decade, and a ridiculous affectation in another.

(Images via straightdope, hilarysheperd, graphicsdesignforum, momgrind)

Women love chores! At least, they used to, clearly, if magazine ads are any indication. There’s no denying that women used to be the main caretakers of the household, but some of these ads are ridiculous in their depiction of rapturous delight at receiving a new vacuum, or purchasing a fresh box of detergent. The misogynist message in some of these ads is just the obvious tip of a much larger iceberg.

(Images via pzrservices, lulusvintage, katiescanlan, foundinmomsbasement)

Makeup ads used to be quite classy in the day. Even the text seemed hand drawn, and it was clear a lot of time was spent designing and formatting. Illustrating every ad must have been a huge enterprise, and I imagine advertising agencies contained giant art departments well beyond what we have today.

(Images via sadanduseless, designgonewild)

Sexual education and hygiene is not a topic I would expect was broached often, but it was actually sprinkled liberally through magazines in the past. The text was subtle, except for the case of war time venereal disease public service warnings, which had to be clear in order to get their message across.

(trendfunnel, smashingmagazine, retrorenovation, atticpaper)

American culture has always imagined the future faster than we could produce it, so we celebrate technology as if we expect a utopian future to pop up just around the corner. This optimism makes viewing advances from the past that much more enjoyable to study.