In 1911, more than fifty years before Truman Capote hosted his legendary Black and White Ball at the Plaza in New York, the beloved Parisian couturier, Paul Poiret, threw one of the most celebrated parties of the 20th century, his “1002 Nights” ball.
Poiret was the man whom Pope Pius X had denounced – for putting women into culottes – and the man who sought to blend the distinction between clothing and costume, the better to exemplify his belief that life was nothing if not a party.
Poiret’s influence was not lost on the audacious Elsa Schiaparelli, whom Poiret counseled to go into fashion – and from whom “Schiap” inherited her love of color – particularly “shocking pink.” Schiap created an entire world in shocking pink, from lipstick to evening stoles – and a perfume called “Shocking Pink” whose bottle was modeled on the torso of Mae West.
Everything was material for Schiap, who made aspirin necklaces and whose friend Salvador Dali designed her black velvet bag in the shape of a telephone, complete with golden dial.
© h.f.ullmann
Visionary Artists
Poiret, Schiap, Fortuny, Adrian and Balenciaga – if these names make you pant the way other boys pant for Taylor Lautner, then you’re the intended audience for FASHION.
Written by Charlotte Seeling, former chief editor of French Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue, this new book from Ullmann Publishing is an encyclopedic compendium, which traces fashion’s origins from the late 19th century right up to the 21st.
Weighing in at nearly ten pounds in hardcover (in chic black-and-white, mais bien sûr), FASHION is one of the more definitive texts in the field of fashion. With more than 500 glossy pages, lavishly sprinkled with more than 1,000 full-color photos, FASHION is roughly the equivalent of complete and total immersion in the worlds of such visionary artists as Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen – and nearly every other fashion genius whose stunning creations have walked the runways in Paris, Milan, and New York.
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Fashion as Reflection – and Rebellion
Seeling’s incisive essays chart the development of fashion juxtaposed with historical epochs: fashion as a reflection of the times, and, at others, a rebellion against. As Seeling astutely notes, “Doctors and women fought alongside one another against the corset, one for health, the other for freedom.”
As much a history of women on the planet as it’s ostensibly about clothing, FASHION examines the revolutions within fashion that have enabled, and complemented, the evolution of women’s lives.
A true fashionista’s pornography, FASHION is filled with photographs of women like Dovima, Bianca, Jackie, and Princess Di, and boys like Iggy and Bowie and Beckham. There are pages of movie stills (Gilda, Mogambo, Breakfast at Tiffany’s), and ads from Madison Avenue, and fashion magazine spreads – and yet, and yet – it’s the clothes. Magnificent, resplendent, stunning gowns, worn by Hollywood stars (Audrey! Elizabeth!) and global socialites. Tailored suits, shoulder pads, shrugs, capes, kilts, and corsets…
FASHION is for those who love it.
PRICE: $69.99
LINK: FASHION 150 Years
