William Wegman's "Underwear" (1992) exemplifies the artist's theatrical genius, transforming his Weimaraner subjects into elegant fashion models through costume and pose. This unique color Polaroid showcases Wegman's mastery of the monumental 20x24 Polaroid camera—a 235-pound apparatus that only five were ever manufactured.

Created during Wegman's collaboration with Fay Ray's offspring, who had grown up naturally adept at modeling, the photograph presents an elaborate black gown with voluminous tulle skirt that creates dramatic silhouette. One dog poses elegantly within the dress while another peers from beneath the fabric, creating compelling narrative about hidden identity and social performance.

The work demonstrates Wegman's sophisticated understanding of both fashion photography and portraiture. The formal composition, complete with white collar detail, transforms the subjects into characters from high fashion or classical art. The deadpan expressions characteristic of Weimaraners create amusing tension with the elaborate costume, resulting in an image both humorous and surprisingly dignified.

This 1992 piece represents Wegman's most prolific period of large-format Polaroid production, when he expanded beyond simple costume photography into complex theatrical tableaux. The immediacy of the Polaroid process perfectly suited his collaborative approach, enabling spontaneous captures while maintaining formal grandeur of traditional portraiture.

Operating simultaneously as fashion commentary, portraiture study, and conceptual art piece, "Underwear" embodies Wegman's belief that dogs make perfect fashion models with their naturally elegant forms. As a signed, unique Polaroid, it represents not just a photograph but a singular artistic object, unreproducible in the digital age and embodying the tactile immediacy that made Wegman's work distinctive in contemporary art.