Synopses & Reviews
'What woman can resist imagining herself in a beautiful designer dress? Here, for the first time ever, are 100 fabulous gowns from the permanent collection of the renowned Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, each of which is a reminder of the ways fashion reflects the broader culture that created it.
Featuring designs by Paul Poiret, Coco Chanel, Madame Grès, Yves Saint Laurent, Gianni Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, and many others, this one-of-a-kind collection presents a stunning variety of garments. Ranging from the buttoned-up gowns of the late 17th century to the cutting-edge designs of the early 21st, the dresses reflect the sensibilities and excesses of each era while providing a vivid picture of how styles have changedsometimes radicallyover the years. A late 1600s wool dress with a surprising splash of silver thread; a large-bustled red satin dress from the 1800s; a short, shimmery 1920s dancing dress; a glamorous 1950s cocktail dress; and a 1960s minidresseach tells a story about its period and serves as a testament to the enduring ingenuity of the fashion designers art.
Images of the dresses are accompanied by informative text and enhanced by close-up details as well as runway photos, fashion plates, works of art, and portraits of designers. A glossary of related terms is also included. '
Review
"A brisk but dazzling 500-year shoe survey."and#8212;The New York Times Style Magazine
Synopsis
'A celebration of one of fashion\'s most revolutionary women and the singular style of the House of Chanel
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Synopsis
An exclusive look at one hundred fabulous shoes from the renowned Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A hundred pairs of shoes, from the 16th to the 21st century, paint a vivid picture of how shoe styles have changed--sometimes radically--over the years. They also reveal how some trends have reappeared throughout the ages. For instance, platform shoes were worn by fashionable Venetian women from the 15th to the 17th century and by Manchu Chinese women in the 1800s. In the late 1930s, Salvatore Ferragamo introduced a modern version of the platform shoe, and updated versions appeared in the 1970s and 1990s.
Beautifully designed and produced, this brilliant follow-up to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 100 Dresses presents examples of fashionable footwear in a range of styles, from flats to stilettos and everything in between. Among them are shoes designed by Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Roger Vivier, and Vivienne Westwood. Images of the shoes are accompanied by informative text and enhanced by works of art, contemporary photos, and portraits of designers. Sure to spark the imaginations of anyone interested in fashion and design,
100 Shoes details how women have used these essential fashion accessories to elevate their style, stature, and status throughout the centuries. An introduction by fashion-forward actress Sarah Jessica Parker adds to the accessibility and appeal of this delightful volume.
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This splendid book celebrates the legacy of Gabrielle (Coco”) Chanel, one of the twentieth centurys great icons of fashion. Beautifully illustrated with more than 150 new photographs of costumes, the book examines the history and influence of the Chanel style from its beginnings through its reinvention for todays world under the masterful leadership of Karl Lagerfeld.\n
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Synopsis
'This splendid book examines the legacy of Gabrielle Coco” Chanel, one of the twentieth century\'s great icons of style. While Chanel mythologized her glamorous life through relentless self-invention, the bare facts of her biography are no less worthy than her legend: born of a poor family in the provinces and raised in a convent, she was an entertainer and the mistress of men of impeccable social standing, and she began her career not as a dressmaker but as a milliner.
Chanel\'s enduring influence is necessarily based on the long shadow cast over fashion by her maison couture. Chanel examines the history of the House of Chanel both thematically and chronologically, introducing ideas and elements of biography as they were expressed in her collections. Period examples are juxtaposed with the work of Karl Lagerfeld, who, beginning in 1983, just over ten years after Chanel\'s death, reinvented and revolutionized the House\'s identity. It is in Lagerfeld\'s masterful and often irreverent interpretations of Chanel\'s work, as well as his mixing of influences from high and low culture, that the historic importance of Chanel and the resonance of her image as the independent, elegant modern woman are both defined and reasserted for the contemporary world.
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Synopsis
An alluring look at the relationship of clothing and interior design in 18th-century France
Synopsis
'During the reigns of Louis XV and XVI, fashion and furniture in France were not designed simply to be beautifulthey were also intended to arouse, attract, and seduce. This alluring book considers the interplay of French clothing and interior design in the eighteenth century and features full-color photographs from the acclaimed Metropolitan Museum exhibition.
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Synopsis
During the reigns of Louis XV (1723-74) and Louis XVI (1774-92), fashion and furniture were not simply meant to be beautiful but were also intended to arouse, attract, and seduce. Published in response to the critically acclaimed and hugely popular exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum in the fall of 2004, Dangerous Liaisons focuses on fashion and its interplay with the paintings, furniture, and decorative arts of eighteenth-century France. Featuring beautiful color photographs of the exhibitions installation, details of the garments, and supplementary historical material, the book demonstrates how the extravagant clothing of the period reiterated the splendor of Rococo and Neoclassical interiors.
Synopsis
'In the annals of fashion history, French couturier Paul Poiret (18791944) is known for liberating women from corsets and introducing pantaloons into their wardrobes. However, it is Poirets remarkable innovations in the cut and construction of clothing, made all the more remarkable by the fact that he could not sew, that secures his legacy.
This essential book is the first to explore Poirets radical modernity from a number of perspectives. Essays by renowned scholars describe the historical context of his work; its relation to the dominant artistic discourses of the early 20th century; his muse, Denise Poiret, and her influence on his work; and his role in the paradigmatic shift to a new ideal of feminine beauty. Poirets entrepreneurship, his creation of an atelier to extend his influence beyond fashion to the art de vivre, and his relationship to the workshops of the Wiener Werkstatte are also discussed.
Poirets innovative creations are represented by colorful pochoirs (stencils), personal photographs from the Poiret family archives, and newly commissioned photographs of Poirets masterworks.'
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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
'Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) was one of the most influential, imaginative, and inspirational designers at the turn of the millennium. His fashions both challenged and expanded the conventional parameters of clothing beyond utility to a compelling expression of culture, politics, and identity. Focusing on the most iconic and acclaimed designs of his prolific career, this stunning book examines McQueen\'s inimitable technical virtuosity and its subversion of traditional tailoring and dressmaking practices.
The book also focuses on the highly sophisticated narrative structures found in McQueen\'s collections and in his astonishing and extravagant runway presentations, which suggested the most avant-garde installation and performance art. Intended as an assessment of Alexander McQueen\'s entire career, the book includes in-depth studies of six collections that illustrate and encapsulate thematic chapters as well as an interview with Sarah Burton, the new creative director of Alexander McQueen who had been the designer\'s right-hand design aide since 1996. '
Synopsis
From purses to parasols, spectacles to slippers, wigs to walking sticks, the Rijksmuseum has a superb collection of fashion accessories that also includes a rich array of more familiar items: hats, gloves, and shoes for both men and women. Ranging from the 15th to the 21st century, the objects in this stylish book are grouped by color, allowing intriguing juxtapositions of period, material, and type.
Many of these accessories were originally received as gifts on all kinds of occasions and for all kinds of reasons: a souvenir from a distant country sent to the family back home; a pair of gloves or a purse embroidered with symbols of marriage and the couples initials; an ivory fan commissioned in Canton, carved with the initials of a lover or inscribed with an amorous allusion; an embroidered cap from a wife to a husband to mark the birth of a child; a fan for a daughter from her grateful parents for her loyal obedience; or a gift for wedding guests to take home.
Superb photography and award-winning design make this an exceptionally desirable book for every follower of fashion with a sense of history.
Synopsis
An exclusive look at one hundred fabulous shoes from the renowned Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Synopsis
A hundred pairs of shoes, from the 16th to the 21st century, paint a vivid picture of how shoe styles have changedandmdash;sometimes radicallyandmdash;over the years. They also reveal how some trends have reappeared throughout the ages. For instance, platform shoes were worn by fashionable Venetian women from the 15th to the 17th century and by Manchu Chinese women in the 1800s. In the late 1930s, Salvatore Ferragamo introduced a modern version of the platform shoe, and updated versions appeared in the 1970s and 1990s.and#160;Beautifully designed and produced, this brilliant follow-up to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 100 Dresses presents examples of fashionable footwear in a range of styles, from flats to stilettos and everything in between. Among them are shoes designed by Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Roger Vivier, and Vivienne Westwood. Images of the shoes are accompanied by informative text and enhanced by works of art, contemporary photos, and portraits of designers. Sure to spark the imaginations of anyone interested in fashion and design, 100 Shoes details how women have used these essential fashion accessories to elevate their style, stature, and status throughout the centuries. An introduction by fashion-forward actress Sarah Jessica Parker adds to the accessibility and appeal of this delightful volume.and#160;
About the Author
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Harold Koda is Curator in Charge at The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the author of many fashion books including Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed, Chanel, and Poiret, all available from Yale. Kohle Yohannan is an independent curator and the author of Claire McCardell and John Rawlings: 30 Years in Vogue.'