Clothing design from 1924 to 1931 was revolutionary and has been the epitome of haute couture ever since. The hand printed color fashion illustrations recreated here are little masterpieces, often admired and collected themselves for their fine details and originality. The most famous clothing designers of the era are represented abundantly, including Charles Worth, Jean Patou, Paul Poiret, Lucien Lelong, Joseph Paquin and many others. A beautiful volume for collectors and students of fashion design.
Erik Satie (1866-1925) was a quirky, innovative and enigmatic composer whose impact has spread far beyond the musical world. As an artist active in several spheres - from cabaret to religion, from calligraphy to poetry and playwriting - and collaborator with some of the leading avant-garde figures of the day, including Cocteau, Picasso, Diaghilev and René Clair, he was one of few genuinely cross-disciplinary composers. His artistic activity, during a tumultuous time in the Parisian art world, situates him in an especially exciting period, and his friendships with Debussy, Stravinsky and others place him at the centre of French musical life. He was a unique figure whose art is immediately recognisable, whatever the medium he employed. Erik Satie: Music, Art and Literature explores many aspects of Satie's creativity to give a full picture of this most multifaceted of composers. The focus is on Satie's philosophy and psychology revealed through his music; Satie's interest in and participation in artistic media other than music, and Satie's collaborations with other artists. This book is therefore essential reading for anyone interested in the French musical and cultural scene of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
This beautifully illustrated book is a celebration of Art Deco’s expression through the graphic arts and illustration. Divided into three sections – the movement, its fashion and advertising – the reader gains great insight into the artists and innovators that helped popularize the Art Deco movement, such as Georges Barbier, Erté, Cassandre and Paul Colin. While the main focus for this intriguing book is centred on graphic art, numerous examples of other forms of Art Deco are also featured. Nestled among the posters and paintings, sculpture, objets d'art and jewellery assert their similarity, whether through line, form or theme. These echoes serve to show the creativity fertility of the period as styles and ideas traversed artistic media.
Art Deco—the term conjures up jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels, glassware by Laique, furniture by Ruhlmann—is best exemplified in the work shown at the exhibition that gave the style its name: the Exposition Internationale des Art Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925. The exquisite craftsmanship and artistry of the objects displayed spoke to a sophisticated modernity yet were rooted in past traditions. Although it quickly spread to other countries, Art Deco found its most coherent expression in France, where a rich cultural heritage was embraced as the impetus for creating something new. the style drew on inspirations as diverse as fashion, avant-garde trends in the fine arts—such as Cubism and Fauvism—and a taste for the exotic, all of which converged in exceptionally luxurious and innovative objects. While the practice of Art Deco ended with the Second World War, interest in it has not only endured to the present day but has grown steadily. Based on the Metropolitan Museum's renowned collection French Art Deco presents more than eighty masterpieces by forty-two designers. Examples include Süe et Mare's furniture from the 1925 Exposition; Dufy's Cubist-inspired textiles; Dunand's lacquered bedroom suite; Dupas's monumental glass wall panels from the SS Normandie; and Fouquet's spectacular dress ornament in the shape of a Chinese mask. Jared Goss's engaging text includes a discussion of each object together with a biography of the designer who created it and is enlivened by generous quotations from writings of the period. The extensive introduction provides historical context and explores the origins and aesthetic of Art Deco. With its rich text and sumptuous photographs, this is not only one of the rare books on French Art Deco in English, but an object d'art in its own right.
Dubbed "The Jazz Age" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1920s were characterized as a decade of frenetic fun. In the fashion world, clothes began to lose the last vestiges of the fussy, frilly Edwardian era as they grew more svelte and "simple." This wonderful, in-depth look at the styles of the Jazz Age and the people who wore them covers the first half of the 1920s -- years that served as a prelude to "The Party of the Century," as Fitzgerald called part two of this free-wheeling decade. A combination of vintage images, professional photographs of existing garments, and period artists' illustrations vividly display clothing and accessories for men, women, and children worn from 1920 through 1924. Clothing for all occasions is featured, including evening wear, day wear, the all-important sports fashions, lingerie, and even wedding attire. Fascinating timelines place the fashions in their proper setting, describing each year's film, music, literary, and couture trends. Among the book's many highlights are rare French pochoir fashion plates and photos of authentic signed haute couture gowns by Patou and Fortuny. This informative and visually engaging book will delight fashion and history connoisseurs alike. A companion volume covers fashions from the years 1925 to 1929.
Fabric colors, patterns, textures, and fibers reveal as much about a culture as do the furnishings and clothing that relied on the fabrics. In the 1960s, traditional plaids became popular at the same time as bold prints and geometrics, notably Op Art and "psychedelic" patterns. Nearly 600 close-up color photographs of 1960s fabrics with informative captions and index comprise this book for designers, historians, and students of fashion and textiles.
