Synopses & Reviews
The corset is probably the most controversial garment in the history of fashion. Although regarded as an essential element of fashionable dress from the Renaissance into the twentieth century, the corset was also frequently condemned as an instrument of torture and the cause of ill health. Why did women continue to don steel and whalebone corsets for four hundred years? And why did they finally stop? This lavishly illustrated book offers fascinating and often surprising answers to these questions. Valerie Steele, one of the worlds most respected fashion historians, explores the cultural history of the corset, demolishing myths about this notorious garment and revealing new information and perspectives on its changing significance over the centuries.
Whereas most historians have framed the history of the corset in terms of oppression vs. liberation and fashion vs. health and comfort, Steele contends that womens experiences of corsetry varied considerably and cannot be fully understood within these narrow frames. Drawing on extensive research in textual, visual, and materials sources, the author disproves the beliefs that the corset was dangerously unhealthy and was designed primarily for the oppression of women. Women persisted in wearing corsetsdespite powerful male authorities trying to dissuade thembecause corsetry had positive connotations of social status, self-discipline, youth, and beauty. In the twentieth century the garment itself fell out of fashion but, Steele points out, it has become internalized as women replace the boned corset with diet, exercise, and plastic surgery. The book concludes with insightful analyses of such recent developments as the reconception of the corset as a symbol of rebellion and female sexual empowerment, the revival of the corset in contemporary high fashion, and its transformation from an item of underwear to outerwear.
Review
"Valerie Steele dispels the myth that Gothicism is only for rebels as she tells of how designers such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano of Christian Dior, Rick Owens, Olivier Theyskens, and Yohji Yamamoto incorporate Gothic looks into their designs; thus, giving light to cultural outsiders."Dujour Magazine -- Peter Evans - BBC Wildlife Magazine
Review
". . . Fashionistas will relish the chance to see famous creations by . . . avant-garde designers. Readers of . . . Romantic literature will enjoy seeing gothic characters and settings come to life. . . . [T]he eager consumers of adolescent vampire fantasies . . . will thrill to the clothes sex-and-death subtext."Karen Rosenberg, New York Times -- Dujour Magazine
Synopsis
A spectacular showcase of the inimitable style and haute couture collection of fashion icon Daphne Guinness
"She is one of the--if not the--most stylish women living," says designer and film director Tom Ford, speaking of Daphne Guinness, the subject and co-author of this extraordinary book. From her platinum-and-black striped hair to her towering 10-inch heels, her to-die-for couture collection and amazing diamond jewelry, Daphne Guinness embodies the rarified, personal style of a true fashion icon. A designer, editor, model, muse, and stylist, Ms. Guinness is renowned for the way she uses fashion to transform herself. As her friend, the art historian John Richardson puts it: "She is the object of her own creativity. Her persona is her own masterpiece."
Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, Valentino, Azzedine Alaia, and the late Alexander McQueen are among the many great fashion designers whose spectacular garments form part of Daphne Guinness's personal collection of haute couture. But Ms. Guinness is far more than a great couture client, she is also an inspiration to designers because of her fearless personal style. In an extended interview with the curator and fashion historian Valerie Steele, Daphne Guinness explains the origins and characteristics of her style. She also discusses her friendships and collaborations with other creative fashion personalities from the late Isabella Blow to the photographer Steven Klein and the jeweler Shaun Leane. Sumptuously illustrated with both high-fashion photographs and paparazzi shots, the book is a spectacular showcase for the world of Daphne Guinness.
Synopsis
As one of the most alluring yet elusive concepts in contemporary style, glamour is an ideal that permeates our visual culture. This lavishly illustrated book radically revises our understanding of glamour in fashion, industrial design, and architecture. The volume traces glamours trajectory from its historical middle-class origins to its present-day connotations of affluence and elegance. In doing so, glamour” is established as a new critical category for design that embraces richly decorative patterns, complex layering, sumptuous materials, and sculptural forms.
Following a general introduction on the culture and consumption of glamour, three essays explore the concept as it has evolved in the fields of fashion, design, and architecture. Valerie Steele examines the construction of glamour from nineteenth-century fashion through the golden age of Hollywood and beyond, addressing the creations of Adrian, Christian Dior, Chanel, Gucci, and Versace, among others. Phil Patton discusses the industrial designs of Bentley, Jakob + MacFarlane, Marc Newson, Greg Lynn, and more, linking postwar cultures fixation on consumer goods to the establishment of class identity and the intricacies of branding and marketing. Joseph Rosa identifies the roots of glamour in projects by postwar architects such as Philip Johnson and Paul Rudolph, exploring their influences on contemporary architects such as Herzog and de Meuron, Bernard Tschumi, and Neil Denari.
Presenting a diverse array of striking couture, design objects (from cars to watches), and buildings (both built and unbuilt), this beautiful book is essential for anyone interested in fashion, design, or architecture.
Synopsis
Working quietly and without much public attention for more than 20 years, American fashion designer Ralph Rucci suddenly became a headline topic in 2002, when he was invited to show his collection at the haute couture in Paristhe first American to receive such an invitation since Mainbocher in the 1930s. This sumptuously illustrated book is the first to explore in depth Ruccis life and work, including the inspirations behind the extraordinarily beautiful and very expensive clothes he creates.
The contributors to the volume explore many aspects of Ruccis genius and emergence as a master in the fashion world. Valerie Steele places his life and work in the context of modern fashion history and discusses his connections with such figures as Balenciaga and Halston. Patricia Mears closely examines the garments he designs, reveals what makes them so special, and considers influences on his work. Clare Sauro describes Ruccis accessories, which complete the aesthetic vision that his fashions embody. The book is enriched with more than 100 photographs that include runway images, fashion shots of Ruccis clients, Chado Ralph Rucci garments from the collection of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and from his own archives, as well as various inspirational objects and fashions.
Synopsis
From its origins in the eighteenth-century literature of terror to its contemporary manifestations in vampire fiction, cinema, and art, the gothic has embraced the powers of horror and the erotic macabre. Gothic” is an epithet with a strange history evoking images of death, destruction, and decay. Ironically, its negative connotations have made the gothic an ideal symbol of rebellion for a wide range of cultural outsiders.
Popularly associated with black-clad teenagers and rock musicians, gothic fashion encompasses not only subcultural styles (from old-school goth to cyber-goth and beyond) but also high fashion by such designers as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano of Christian Dior, Rick Owens, Olivier Theyskens, and Yohji Yamamoto. Fashion photographers, such as Sean Ellis and Eugenio Recuenco, have also drawn on the visual vocabulary of the gothic to convey narratives of dark glamour. As the text and lavish illustrations in this book suggest, gothic fashion has deep cultural roots that give it an enduring potency.
Synopsis
One of the most exciting fashion designers in the United States, Cuban-born Isabel Toledo has been honored with a National Design Award from the Cooper- Hewitt Museum and a Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion, given by The Museum at FIT. Yet her name and work are recognized only by fashion insiders. This ravishing book brings Toledos creations to a wider audience, places them within the context of contemporary fashion, and examines her creative process.
Interviewing Toledo, her husband (fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo), and other colleagues, clients, and critics, Valerie Steele gives an account of Toledos career and explains that while she has been heralded by leading fashion magazines and featured in stores in New York and Europe, she has not had the long-term financial backing to break out of the niche market. Patricia Mears investigates the artistic and cultural influences on Toledos work and analyzes her unusual methods of construction, noting that she designs in three dimensions in her mind and then begins working directly with fabric. Displaying garments Toledo has created since her first show in 1985, this book is a revelatory exploration of a fashion innovator in a mass-market industry.
Synopsis
Model as Muse explores fashions reciprocal relationship to iconic beauties that represent the evolution and changing face of the feminine ideal. Featuring a brief historical overview of the phenomenon of the supermodel, the book begins in the early 20th century and continues to the present day. Dorian Leigh and Lisa Fonssagrives in the 1940s are joined in the 1950s by Dovima, Sunny Harnett, and Suzy Parker. They are followed by Jean The Shrimp” Shrimpton and Twiggy in the 1960s and Lauren Hutton in the 1970s. The 1980s witnessed such enduring personalities as Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista, while the 1990s brought on Kate Moss, whose edgy, street-inflected style has inspired not only fashion designers, editors, stylists, and photographers, but artists such as Chuck Close and Lucien Freud.
With an emphasis on styles from the 1950s onward, the book features designs from the great ready-to-wear and couture housesMadame Grès, Christian Dior, and Balenciaga in the 1950s; Rudi Gernreich, Yves Saint Laurent, and Cardin in the 1960s; Giorgio di SantAngelo and Halston in the 1970s; Christian Lacroix, Versace, Comme des Garcons, and Calvin Klein in the 1980s; and Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, and Alexander McQueen in the 1990s.
Synopsis
Scholars have long acknowledged the significance of the Japanese fashion revolution” of the 1980s, when avant-garde designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons introduced a radically new conception of fashion. But what has happened in the years since then?
Lavishly illustrated, Japan Fashion Now will be the first book to explore how Japanese fashion has evolved in recent years. During this time, Japanese pop culture has swept the world, as young people everywhere read manga, watch anime, and play video games. Japan has had a profound impact on global culture, often via new media.
With essays by Valerie Steele (Is Japan Still the Future?”), Patricia Mears (Fashion Revolution”), Hiroshi Narumi (Japanese Street Style”), and Yuniya Kawamura (Japanese Fashion Subcultures”), Japan Fashion Now explores how the world of fashion has been transformed by contemporary Japanese visual culture.
Synopsis
and#8220;She is one of theand#8212;if not theand#8212;most stylish women living,and#8221; says designer and film director Tom Ford, speaking of Daphne Guinness, the subject and co-author of this extraordinary book. From her platinum-and-black striped hair to her towering 10-inch heels, her to-die-for couture collection and amazing diamond jewelry, Daphne Guinness embodies the rarified, personal style of a true fashion icon. A designer, editor, model, muse, and stylist, Ms. Guinness is renowned for the way she uses fashion to transform herself. As her friend, the art historian John Richardson puts it: and#8220;She is the object of her own creativity. Her persona is her own masterpiece.and#8221;and#160;
Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, Valentino, Azzedine Alaia, and the late Alexander McQueen are among the many great fashion designers whose spectacular garments form part of Daphne Guinness's personal collection of haute couture. But Ms. Guinness is far more than a great couture client, she is also an inspiration to designers because of her fearless personal style. In an extended interview with the curator and fashion historian Valerie Steele, Daphne Guinness explains the origins and characteristics of her style. She also discusses her friendships and collaborations with other creative fashion personalities from the late Isabella Blow to the photographer Steven Klein and the jeweler Shaun Leane. Sumptuously illustrated with both high-fashion photographs and paparazzi shots, the book is a spectacular showcase for the world of Daphne Guinness.
Synopsis
A spectacular showcase of the inimitable style and haute couture collection of fashion icon Daphne Guinness
About the Author
Joseph Rosa is Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and author of Next Generation Architecture; Phil Patton is the author of numerous books on industrial design and a frequent contributor to the New York Times, ID magazine, Wired, and Esquire; Virginia Postrel is author of The Substance of Style; Valerie Steele is director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and author of The Corset: A Cultural History and Fashion Italian Style, both published by Yale University Press; Ruth Keffer is curatorial associate for architecture and design at SFMOMA and a contributor to Surface magazine.