More than 150,000 people work in haute couture. Many of them labour behind the scenes, applying their talents in ateliers devoted to creativity and meticulous attention to detail. This book takes the reader behind the fashion scenes, allowing the best haute couture designers, embroiderers, lacemakers, perfumiers and jewelers to share their work.
Cristobal Balenciaga, Philippe Venet, and Hubert de Givenchy are unparalleled masters of the grand tradition of French fashion, and their individual contributions have set the standard for haute couture.
Christiane de Nicolay-Mazery, a specialist in furniture and antiques at Christies and Honelon, invites her readers to enter the elegantly luxurious interiors of some of France's most exclusive abodes. From the classic taste of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the creativity of the nineteenth century, she traces the path to the finesse of the twentieth century, which combines tradition and modernity. The interiors portrayed in these nine exquisitely illustrated chapters pay tribute to the refinement of French taste, a savoir-faire that has been continually renewed. Classic hôtels particuliers in the heart of Paris and romantic châteaux, as well as a surprising isba--a traditional rural log house in the Russian style--are but a few of the examples of the kinds of interiors that will inspire readers as they marvel over the art of French designers, including Madeleine Castaing, Hubert de Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Jacques Grange, François Joseph Graff, and Pierre Bergé. Unlike most books on French style on the market, this book is not only a testimony to timeless French elegance, it is an invitation to discover a synthesis of contemporary and classic décor, in some of France's most exclusive residences, firsthand.
A captivating selection of images by the world’s leading photographers celebrating one of the most recognized faces in fashion and film. Dubbed an “It Girl” by Yves Saint Laurent in the early 1970s, Marisa Berenson is the original modern muse-inspiring fashion designers, photographers, stylists, and fashion editors for over thirty years. Born of noble lineage-and the granddaughter of the famed fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli-Berenson’s meteoric rise began formally at age sixteen, leading to numerous covers and editorials in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and countless other high-end fashion and society magazines. Her timeless beauty and chameleonlike talent for transformation soon led to her entry into film, where she landed leading roles in the period films Cabaret, Death in Venice, and Stanley Kubrick’s lavish production of Barry Lyndon. This captivating collection of fashion editorials, magazine covers, film stills, and candid photos were captured by the leading photographers and filmmakers of the day, including Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, David Bailey, Hiro, Helmut Newton, Henry Clarke, Norman Parkinson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Steven Meisel, among many others. This lavish yet intimate volume details a visual biography of Berenson, and demonstrates the lasting resilience that continues to make her an enthralling and legendary visage.
Elsa Schiaparelli is regarded as one of the most important artist-couturiers and taste-makers of the 20th century. A genuine influence on the style of her times, she numbered among her collaborators and friends the artists Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Christian Berard and Marcel Vertes. This illustrated book tells her story.
Suzanne Lulingová byla jednou z výjimečných osobností Diorova nejužšího týmu. Právě ona měla rozhodující podíl na vzestupu tohoto módního domu a jeho věhlasu doma i v zahraničí. Christian Dior a Suzanne Lulingová se narodili v Granville a znali se odjakživa. Ona nikdy nepochybovala o jeho úspěchu, on obdivoval její nevyčerpatelnou energii a dobrou náladu. Suzanne před válkou pracovala v oboru reklamy po boku Marcela Bleustein-Blancheta, zakladatele skupiny Publicis, a na kariéru v oblasti módy neměla ani pomyšlení. Když si ale Christian v roce 1946 otevřel vlastní módní salon, trval na tom, aby jeho podnik, prodej a komunikaci vedla právě Suzanne. Tak se tato žena výjimečného temperamentu a neodolatelného šarmu stala jednou z klíčových postav značky Christian Dior a neopominutelnou osobností pařížské smetánky té doby. Své vzpomínky na "ducha jedné epochy" zachytila formou krátkých textů doprovázených fotografiemi.
