Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen

Author: Robert Fairer

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2016-11-15

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 030022267X

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Never-before-seen photos of McQueen’s brilliantly creative world from an exclusive backstage photographer Alexander McQueen, the iconic designer whose untimely death in 2010 left the fashion world reeling and fans worldwide clamoring for more, fused immense creativity, audacity, and a hauntingly dark aesthetic sense into powerful, unforgettable imagery. The strange, singular beauty of his clothing was matched by the spectacle of his legendary fashion shows, which demonstrated his outstanding showmanship and consistently pushed the boundaries of runway events. Robert Fairer’s intimate, vibrant full-color photographs of McQueen’s collections, taken backstage and on the catwalk when few photographers were allowed access, offer a unique insight into the life and work of one of the world’s most captivating figures. This previously unpublished portfolio of stunning, high-energy photographs captures the people and the spirit that made the designer’s flamboyant shows unique. Fairer, Vogue's backstage fashion photographer for over a decade, was an integral part of the whirl of activity behind the scenes. These images, which capture both the glamor and the grit, represent a new genre of fashion photography and are a treasure-trove of inspiration. This superb book contains an introduction and collections texts by fashion expert Claire Wilcox. Dynamic images of McQueen’s collections--thirty of his total of thirty-six shows are presented chronologically--portray behind-the-scenes moments that reveal stylists, models, hairdressers, makeup artists, and McQueen himself at their most candid and creative.

Fashion Is Spinach
Fashion Is Spinach

Author: Elizabeth Hawes

Publisher: Courier Dover Publications

Published: 2015-05-26

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 0486805182

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After working as a stylist in Paris, Elizabeth Hawes (1903–71) launched one of the first American design houses in Depression-era New York. Hawes was an outspoken critic of the fashion industry and a champion of ready-to-wear styles. Fashion Is Spinach, her witty and astute memoir, offers an insider's critique of the fashion scene during the 1920s and '30s. "I don't know when the word fashion came into being, but it was an evil day," Hawes declares. Style, she maintains, reflects an era's mood, altering only with changes in attitude and taste. Fashion, conversely, exists only to perpetuate sales. Hawes denounces the industry's predatory practices, advising readers to reject ever-changing fads in favor of comfortable, durable, flattering attire. Decades ahead of her time, she offers a fascinating and tartly observed behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry's economics, culture, and ethics.

Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel

Author: Justine Picardie

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2023-09-19

Total Pages: 589

ISBN-13: 0063372894

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Filled with fresh new research and never-before-seen photos, this updated edition of the definitive biography of Coco Chanel deepens our understanding of the history and legacy of the incredible woman who shaped modern fashion and created an empire of haute couture. Coco Chanel was an extraordinary inventor, conjuring up the little black dress, bobbed hair, trousers for women, contemporary chic, bestselling perfumes, and the most successful fashion brand of all time. But she also invented herself, fashioning the myth of her own life with the same dexterity as her couture; and what lies beneath her own glossy surface is darker, more mysterious, and far more intriguing. Uncovering remarkable new details about Gabrielle Chanel’s humble early years, Justine Picardie picks up the legend Chanel where it began—in orphanhood and poverty. Throwing new light on her passionate and, at times, dark relationships and providing profound insights into her connections with Cocteau, Diaghilev, Picasso, and Dali, this beautifully constructed portrait gives a fresh and penetrating look at what made Coco Chanel the strong-spirited and powerful presence she became. An authoritative account, based on personal observations and interviews with Chanel’s last surviving friends, employees, and relatives, the book also unravels her coded language and symbols and tracks the influence of her formative years on her legendary style. Feared and revered by the rest of the fashion industry, Coco Chanel died in 1971 at the age of 87, but her legacy lives on. This special new edition has been extensively revised and updated and offers a uniquely authoritative account of the world’s greatest designer. Adding fresh new insights and discoveries, it comes complete with a compelling array of previously unseen images from the Chanel archives.

Nobody's Looking at You
Nobody's Looking at You

Author: Janet Malcolm

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2019-02-19

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0374279497

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A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. A 2019 NPR Staff Pick. "Malcolm is always worth reading; it can be instructive to see how much satisfying craft she brings to even the most trivial article." --Phillip Lopate, TLS Janet Malcolm’s previous collection, Forty-One False Starts: Essays on Artists and Writers, was “unmistakably the work of a master” (The New York Times Book Review). Like Forty-One False Starts, Nobody’s Looking at You brings together previously uncompiled pieces, mainly from The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. The title piece of this wonderfully eclectic collection is a profile of the fashion designer Eileen Fisher, whose mother often said to her, “Nobody’s looking at you.” But in every piece in this volume, Malcolm looks closely and with impunity at a broad range of subjects, from Donald Trump’s TV nemesis Rachel Maddow, to the stiletto-heel-wearing pianist Yuju Wang, to “the big-league game” of Supreme Court confirmation hearings. In an essay called “Socks,” the Pevears are seen as the “sort of asteroid [that] has hit the safe world of Russian Literature in English translation,” and in “Dreams and Anna Karenina,” the focus is Tolstoy, “one of literature’s greatest masters of manipulative techniques.” Nobody’s Looking at You concludes with “Pandora’s Click,” a brief, cautionary piece about e-mail etiquette that was written in the early two thousands, and that reverberates—albeit painfully—to this day.

Fashion Design Course
Fashion Design Course

Author: Steven Faerm

Publisher: B.E.S. Publishing

Published: 2022-08-09

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9781438089980

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This latest edition helps aspiring fashion designers understand demographics, psychographics, and the role of advertising; learn how to create a unique design vision through ethnographic research; develop a collection from first concept to finished project on the runway; see how to build a career in fashion, and more.

The Absolute Woman
The Absolute Woman

Author: Vicky Tiel

Publisher: Post Hill Press

Published: 2018-10-09

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1642930105

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After years of pushing the boundaries of fashion with her best girlfriends, Tiel shares her tricks for living a bold and successful life. In The Absolute Woman, Tiel writes with passion and humor about her one-of-a-kind experiences, from the glamorous parties and famous men of her career in Hollywood and Paris, to the Chanel straw hats and home-grown meals of her idyllic Florida home in “Life Part Two.” You’ll learn all her best secrets for living a sensational life: how to seduce and keep an ideal lover, turn a setback into success, steer clear of “crazies,” eat for health and beauty, dress with poise, harness your smarts, and find the power to create the life you want. Bringing together all of Tiel’s best stories, original sketches, and personal photos, The Absolute Woman is an unforgettable tribute to fearless women everywhere that will inspire you to unlock your own unique feminine power.

Edith Head
Edith Head

Author: Jay Jorgensen

Publisher: Running Press Adult

Published: 2010-10-05

Total Pages: 402

ISBN-13: 0762438053

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Nearly every iconic film in the last century had one thing in common: Edith Head. From her mysterious childhood to the controversial portfolio that landed her first job in a Hollywood costume department, Jorgenson provides a sleek and sophisticated portrait of the most influential costume designer of the twentieth century.

The Impossible Collection of Fashion
The Impossible Collection of Fashion

Author: Valerie Steele

Publisher: Assouline Publishing

Published: 2011-08-01

Total Pages: 6

ISBN-13: 1614280169

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In this limited edition, Ultimate Collection format linen clamshell and handmade oversized book, Valerie Steele flexes her curatorial muscle by showcasing the most iconic dresses of the twentieth century. From Poiret to Pucci, Doucet to Dior, Vionnet to Valentino, Steele selects one hundred dresses that caused a stir either on the runway or entering a room and ultimately inspired new directions in fashion. Steele’s selections include Paul Poiret's figure-liberating 1907 gown, Madame Grès’s sublimely draped goddess creation from 1938, Jean Paul Gaultier's shockingly exaggerated cone-bust corset dress circa 1984, and Hussein Chalayan’s awe-inspiring remote-control fiberglass Airplane dress from 2000. The compilation, while certainly subjective, is sure to receive nods of recognition along with a gasp or two of surprise.

Chanel: The Impossible Collection
Chanel: The Impossible Collection

Author: Alexander Fury

Publisher: Assouline Publishing

Published: 2019-10-01

Total Pages: 3

ISBN-13: 1614288100

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This book is a literary museum exhibition, a curated selection of 100 iconic and signature looks of the house of Chanel, from the timeless Little Black Dress to the impeccably simple tweed suit, the apothecary-style perfume bottle, two-tone pumps, abundant strands of faux pearls and stones, and diamond-quilted leather handbag, from Mademoiselle’s revolutionary designs to Karl Lagerfeld’s unexpected and even irreverent variations on her original codes.

Iconic
Iconic

Author: Zandra Rhodes

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2024-07-18

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 1529915031

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'A vivid and compelling picture of the broader fashion landscape between 1960 and the present day. Anecdotes? The book is full of them.' The Times 'Dazzling from start to finish.' Joanna Lumley In this insightful memoir, Zandra shares her life story for the first time. Told through a variety of mementos collected over the years, it is a vibrant account filled with rockstars and royalty, of life-changing friendships and poignant reflections on her personal triumphs and tragedies, as well as the fears, sacrifices and pressures that come with being an era-defining designer. Full of poignant reflections and life lessons on achieving success while defying convention, Zandra takes the reader right alongside her as she recounts being inspired by her avant-garde mother to her time at the Royal College, from a road trip to Rome with Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell, to opening her first London store thanks to a kind loan from Vanessa Redgrave with Joe Cocker singing With a Little Help From My Friends, from hanging out with Andy Warhol and Halston in New York's Studio 54 to lifelong friendships with legends such as Karl Lagerfeld and Diana Vreeland; from designing for everyone from Freddie Mercury to Diana Ross, Princess Diana to Barbra Streisand to founding the Fashion and Textile Museum. Capturing the rich and unexpected life of a British icon, this memoir explores what it is to defy the norm. ‘Zandra Rhodes has changed the course of fashion history.' Suzy Menkes, fashion journalist