Synopses & Reviews
Since its origins in the 1970s, punk has had an explosive influence on fashion. With its eclectic mixing of stylistic references, punk effectively introduced the postmodern concept of bricolage to the elevated precincts of haute couture and directional ready-to-wear. As a style, punk is about chaos, anarchy, and rebellion. Drawing onand#160;provocative sexual and political imagery, punks made fashion overtly hostile and threatening. This aesthetic of violence andndash; even of cruelty andndash; was intrinsic to the clothes themselves, which were often customized with rips, tears, and slashes, as well asand#160;studs, spikes,and#160;zippers, D-Rings,and#160;safety pins, and razor blades, among other things.
This extraordinaryand#160;publication examines the impact of punkandrsquo;s aesthetic of brutality on high fashion, focusingand#160;on its do-it-yourself, rip-it-to-shreds ethos, the antithesis of coutureandrsquo;s made-to-measure exactitude. Indeed, punkandrsquo;s democracy stands in opposition to fashionandrsquo;s autocracy. Yet, as this book reveals, even haute couture has readily appropriated the visual and symbolic language of punk, replacing beads with studs, paillettes with safety pins, and feathers with razor blades in an attempt to capture the styleandrsquo;s rebellious energy. Focusing on high fashionandrsquo;s embrace of punkandrsquo;s aesthetic vocabulary, this bookand#160;reveals how designers have looked to the quintessential anti-establishment style to originate new ideals of beauty and fashionability.
Review
and#8220;at once enlightening and fascinating.and#8221; and#8212;Womenand#8217;s Wear Daily
Review
and#8220;This striking catalogue, published to accompany the Metropolitan Museum of Artand#8217;s Costume Institute show of the same name, claims that and#8220;no other countercultural movement has had a greater or more enduring influence on high fashion.and#8221; Curator Bolton (Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty) defines punk as the and#8220;questioning of traditional representations. . . through its ethos of do-it-yourself.and#8221;and#8212;andnbsp;Publishers Weekly
Review
and#8220;Curator Andrew Bolton shows great calm and patience in the scope of his research into punkand#8217;s frenetic effects. His underlying aim is to prove that punk was more than just the clichand#233; of mohicans and bad skin, but was a swirling, chaotic period of great experimentation in style. No linear study, the book offers a wide-ranging overview of the persistence of punkand#8217;s influence . . . The big coup of the book is its introductory essay by both Richard Hell and John Lydon, he who previously went by the name of Johnny Rotton."and#8212;Charlie Porter, VandA Magazine
Synopsis
The provocative punk aesthetic and its incendiary influence on high fashion
Synopsis
The provocative punk aesthetic and its incendiary influence on high fashion
Since its origins in the 1970s, punk has had an explosive influence on fashion. With its eclectic mixing of stylistic references, punk effectively introduced the postmodern concept of bricolage to the elevated precincts of haute couture and directional ready-to-wear. As a style, punk is about chaos, anarchy, and rebellion. Drawing on provocative sexual and political imagery, punks made fashion overtly hostile and threatening. This aesthetic of violence - even of cruelty - was intrinsic to the clothes themselves, which were often customized with rips, tears, and slashes, as well as studs, spikes, zippers, D-Rings, safety pins, and razor blades, among other things.
This extraordinary publication examines the impact of punk's aesthetic of brutality on high fashion, focusing on its do-it-yourself, rip-it-to-shreds ethos, the antithesis of couture's made-to-measure exactitude. Indeed, punk's democracy stands in opposition to fashion's autocracy. Yet, as this book reveals, even haute couture has readily appropriated the visual and symbolic language of punk, replacing beads with studs, paillettes with safety pins, and feathers with razor blades in an attempt to capture the style's rebellious energy. Focusing on high fashion's embrace of punk's aesthetic vocabulary, this book reveals how designers have looked to the quintessential anti-establishment style to originate new ideals of beauty and fashionability.
Synopsis
A lavish exploration of the evocative and complex fashions inspired by Chinese culture.
Synopsis
For centuries, Chinaandrsquo;s export artsandmdash;jade, silks, porcelains, and, more recently, cinemaandmdash;have fueled Western fantasies of an exotic East and served as enduring sources of inspiration for fashion. This stunning publication explores the influence of Chinese aesthetics on designers, including Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen, and Yves Saint Laurent. Drawing upon Chinese decorative arts, cinema, and costumeandmdash;notably imperial court robes, the close-fitting cheongsam, and the unisex Mao suitandmdash;their designs are fantastical pastiches of anachronistic motifs. As in the game of andldquo;telephone,andrdquo; the process of cultural translation transforms the source material into ingeniously original fashions that are products solely of the designersandrsquo; imaginations.
and#160;
In a similar way, contemporary Chinese film directors render fanciful, highly stylized evocations of various epochs in Chinaandrsquo;s historyandmdash;demonstrating that Chinaandrsquo;s imagery is equally seductive to artists in the East and further inspiring todayandrsquo;s designers. Juxtaposing modern fashions and film stills with their forebears in fine and decorative arts and historical dress, this book reveals the rich and ongoing creative dialogue between East and West, past and present.
About the Author
Designers featured in theand#160;book include Haider Ackermann, Miguel Adrover, Azzedine Alaandiuml;a, Christopher Bailey (Burberry), Zowie Broach and Brian Kirkby (Boudicca), Thom Browne, Hussein Chalayan, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Christophe Decarnin (Balmain), Ann Demeulemeester, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (Dolce and Gabbana), Shelley Fox, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nicolas Ghesquiandegrave;re (Balenciaga), Andrew Groves, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren (Viktor (and) Rolf), Marc Jacobs, Christopher Kane, Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garandccedil;ons), Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel), Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela, Alexander McQueen, Franco Moschino, Thierry Mugler, Kate and Laura Mulleavy (Rodarte), Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh, Zandra Rhodes, Russell Sage, Jeremy Scott, Stephen Sprouse, Anna Sui, Jun Takahashi (Undercover), Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi (Preen), Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx (A.F. Vandevorst), Gianni Versace, Alexander Wang, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, and Vivienne Westwood.