Date: Summer of 1960
Photographer: American photographer Giggli Armando – Worked for Time, Paris Match, and Life magazines.
Details: The story behind the iconic photograph “Girls in the Windows” began, according to photographer Giggli Armando, when he noticed a building across from his studio that was about to be demolished. Armando had grown accustomed to seeing the building daily, and the sight of it being prepared for destruction filled him with a sense of loss. As he gazed at the now-empty windows of the building, an idea struck him—he imagined placing a woman dressed in vibrant colors in each window.
Without wasting time, Armando set his plan in motion. He sent someone from his team to speak with the demolition supervisor to see if they could execute his idea. The supervisor agreed on the condition that his wife would be one of the women in the photograph. With the deal struck, they were given permission to shoot the next day during the lunch break, as the building would be gone shortly afterward.
Armando and his team spent the next 24 hours reaching out to all their contacts to gather as many models as possible. The following morning, Armando was anxious that the plan might not work, but soon his assistant informed him that the models were arriving in taxis, dressed in their finest outfits, and filling the windows of the building. Armando quickly arranged them, ensuring a harmonious spread of colors, and instructed them to pose as if they were blowing a kiss while he captured the image. As he snapped the photo, he noticed that some of the models were standing on the edges of the cement windowsills, which were sometimes fragile. He had to shout through a megaphone, urging them to stay within the window frames to ensure their safety.
Armando recalls that the afternoon sun was directly overhead when he took the shot, casting a brilliant light between the buildings. Fortunately, the police didn’t arrive to shut down the shoot, and within an hour of preparation, he successfully captured the image. He still has a large print of the photo on his wall and smiles every time he looks at it, even after all these years and the disappearance of the building.
It’s worth noting that Armando’s wife also appeared in the photograph, dressed in pink on the second floor on the right side. Meanwhile, the demolition supervisor’s wife is the third woman from the left on the third floor.
