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Chris Moore has seen it all in more than six decades in the industry - from the salons of designer André Courrèges in the 1960s to the meteoric rise of supermodels such as Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and beyond.

When Moore, now 89, started out in a studio in Soho Street in London his job was to photograph the latest hair styles at the local photographers and send them to the likes of Women's Weekly and Women's Own.

He started going to Paris in 1963 - a time when photographers went to the salons after the shows and had to pay the models the equivalent of £4 to wear a garment.

In the early days of catwalk shows there were few photographers. "The models danced and were full of life", he recalled.

A Saint Laurent show in the rue Spontini in Paris in 1974 was "very intimate" and there were "no celebrities" at the time.

They wouldn't let him in to the early Armani shows in Milan.

"They thought I was a spy".

Thierry Mugler's History-Making show in 1984 starred Madonna and the photographers were allowed to roam all over. "She had a presence and a sort of look," he said.

People can see 200 original photographs from his archive in “Catwalking: Fashion through the lens of Chris Moore” which has opened at Cannon Hall Museum. Accompanying the exhibition are original catwalk outfits from the houses of Jean Paul Gaultier, Comme des Garçons, and Vivienne Westwood.

The display also pays homage to the Barnsley women who made their mark in the fashion industry.

Victoria Nixon was famously photographed in a steel dress for a national newspapers advert, promoting new innovative uses for steel back in the late 1960s, with the headline “British Steel shaped to the customers' requirements”.

Now a published author, she has created a replica of the dress for the display.

The exhibition also features looks collected over the past 40 years by Simon Nicholls, a Barnsley-based salon owner who says fashion "both male and female, is a brilliant way to express yourself and channel your creativity".

His collection includes a Vivienne Westwood Striped Bondage Tailored Suit from 1995 and ‘Sex’ T-Shirt rereleased from 1976, an Alexander McQueen embroidered suit and a fringed and embroidered shirt, both from 1999, worn with a feather neck piece, and a Jean Paul Gaultier one shoulder suit from 1985.

Alison Cooper, Exhibitions Officer, said: “Visitors will be able to see the original supermodels up close and wonder at the designs of the top fashion houses. Barnsley has always had a strong fashion presence dating back to Georgian times and local links will be celebrated and explored in the exhibition.” The exhibition runs until September 10.