Release Date: October 23, 2007, Fall 2007
THE BLACK DRESS
A
uthor: Valerie SteeleFormat:
HardcoverISBN:
006120904XISBN13:
9780061209048
Trim:
6 5/8 x 10
Pages:
Illustrations:
Release Date:
Drop Ship Month: August
Price: $19.95 / $24.95 Can.
Territory: W
SYNOPSIS
A lush visual celebration of a fashion classic: the black dress.
If there is an item of clothing that every woman has in her wardrobe, it is a black dress. Coco Chanel made it chic more than 75 years ago and today it is still considered classic, elegant, and in fashion. Black never goes out of style. Women’s magazines consistently tout the importance of the black dress as a de rigeur wardrobe staple, while fashion icons continue to wear various incarnations of it. One example is the legendary black column dress immortalized by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Natalie Portman graced the November, 2007 cover of Harpers Bazaar wearing it, and this same dress is expected to bring in six figures when Christie’s auctions it off later in the year.
THE BLACK DRESS tells the story of the most popular and enduring item in fashion history. Written by Valerie Steele, Director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, a widely published and renowned authority who is constantly quoted in major media, this volume features page after uniquely designed page of the most compelling designs in fashion history. The diverse imagery includes fine art and photography, runway shots, vintage film stills, and gorgeous illustrations by the world’s foremost fashion designers, artists, and photographers. These include paintings by Jean Renoir, Edouard Manet, and John Singer Sargent, illustrations by Georges LePape, Paul Poiret, and Ruben Toledo, and images of cinematic icons Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Rita Hayworth in Gilda.
The world’s finest designers—from master couturiers such as Madeleine Vionnet, Charles Worth, Christian Dior, and Coco Chanel to new talent such as Zac Posen, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Yeoh Lee, and Boudicca—are featured in full-color throughout and are accompanied with quotes on black by designers, artists, and famous fashion personalities. Extended captions at the back of book provide details on each dress and its place in fashion history, too.
Valerie Steele is one of the most recognized authorities on fashion in the world, a widely published author, and director of the museum of one of the world’s premier fashion institutes. THE BLACK DRESS is a fashion staple--featured over and over again in all the major women’s magazines--and this book is its most beautiful incarnation in print.
AUTHOR PROFILE
Valerie Steele is the Director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has previously written THE CORSET: A CULTURAL HISTORY, FIFTY YEARS OF FASHION: NEW LOOK TO NOW, and HANDBAGS: A LEXICON OF STYLE.