In 1949, LIFE magazine sent famed photographer Nina Leen to document the daily life of a sassy troupe of young women who had run off and joined the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus in Sarasota, Fla. What developed was a portrait of a sisterhood formed over acrobatics that mixed high-flying wire acts with fashionable high-waisted shorts. Sarasota was once considered “the home of the American circus”. Here: an aerialist smoking while rehearsing for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Sarasota, FL in 1949. (Photo By Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Gothic rock music enthusiasts walk the streets between venues during the annual Wave Gotik music festival on June 11, 2011 in Leipzig, Germany. The festival began in the 1990s and has since grown into one of the biggest gatherings of Goth scene followers in Europe with around 20,000 participants. Many of those attending wear elaborate outfits and make-up for which they require hours of painstaking preparation and that also show a departure from the traditional black of the Goth scene. Punk remains a strong influence in today's Goth style as witnessed in Leipzig, but newer trends, with names like Cybergoth and Steampunk, have emerged that blend bold colors, Victorian fashion elegance and 19th and 20th century factory accessories into a look reminiscent of a mutated Venetian carnival. The five-day festival includes performances by around 200 bands. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Badminton School sixth form pupils (L-R) Lucy Warden, who got 3 A* and is off to study English at Durham, Sam Crumpton, who got 1 A* and 2 A's and is off to study to be a vet at Cambridge and Madeline Sunter, who got 2 A* and 1 B, and is off to study fashion at St. Martins, celebrate their A-level results on August 18, 2011 in Bristol, England. With another record year for A-level results, sixth-form students face a scramble for university places in the final year before tuition fees rise. According to the examination bodies the pass rate rose for the 29th successive year to hit 97.8 percent, while around one in 12 exams achieved the top A* grade. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A model stands in a light backstage after presenting the collection by Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina at The Russian State Library, one of the three national libraries of Russia, the largest library in the country, largest in Europe, in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki pictured as Princess Diana wearing her “Revenge Dress” at Vanity Fair's annual fundraising gala for the Serpentine Gallery while filming hit Netflix TV series “The Crown” in London, United Kingdom on November 1, 2021. The dress, created by Greek fashion designer Christina Stambolian, is one of the most famous dresses the late Princess wore. The form fitting, off-the-shoulder chiffon cocktail dress was worn in June 1994. The same night Diana wore the dress to the Serpentine party, her estranged husband, Prince Charles, confessed on national television that he had been unfaithful to her. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

A visitor looks at a Morris Mini-Minor Car on display at the Victoria and Albert museums' new major exhibition, “British Design 1948-2012: Innovation In The Modern Age” on March 28, 2012 in London, England. This car, which was designed by Alec Issigonis, was the first one off the production line. The exhibition showcases some of the most iconic product design, fashion, furniture, graphics, architecture and fine art from the last 60 years, and opens to the public from March 31, 2012. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Bex Hetherington exhibits a T-shirt at the Edinburgh College of Art degree show on June 8, 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Students work will be exhibited across the campus buildings turning Edinburgh College of Art into the city's biggest gallery space. The work ranges from conceptual to commercial with inspirational influences as diverse and wide ranging as fashion photography, volcanoes, the crazy lady who put a cat in a bin, fairytales, the star system and serial killers. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Vogue Italia is hosting a series of shows in Milan exploring how the magazine seeks to engage with hot social and political issues and provoke debate through images by top photographers. The Photo Vogue festival in Milan is hosting three exhibitions. The first, Fashion and Politics in Vogue Italia, looks at the magazine’s ambition to be a catalyst for change – in subtle and playful ways. Here: David LaChapelle – October 2004. (Photo by David LaChapelle/The Guardian)