1985 Coffee Table Book: "Couture, the Great Designers", First Edition, Caroline Rennolds Milbank

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Offered is a 1985 1st edition of "Couture, the Great Designers", by former Sotheby's costume head curator Caroline Rennolds Milbank. … Read more Offered is a 1985 1st edition of "Couture, the Great Designers", by former Sotheby's costume head curator Caroline Rennolds Milbank. Full of smashing pictures and illustrations, well researched history and anecdotes, this book is a feast for those who appreciate couture and the stories behind the artists. We've sampled many of the images in collages here. Beige cloth cover, dust jacket, embossed spine.

Author: Catherine Rennolds Milbank
Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang, 1985 - First Edition
10" wide, 11.75" tall, 1.5" deep weighs approximately 8 lbs
ISBN 10: 0941434516 / ISBN 13: 9780941434515
From Publisher's Weekly:
Drawing on noted design houses and fashion designers for choice illustrations, Milbank, former head of Sotheby's costume department, weaves together a handsome collection of 175 color and 225 duotone picturesartists' sketches, house photographs, period magazine illustrations, documents. Her 61 insightful if often flattering cameos of famous couturiers' lives and careers form an engaging social history of changing styles. We learn that Charles Frederick Worth not only pioneered the bustle silhouette, he also created a system of pattern parts allowing for near-perfect fit with fewer fittings. We're reminded that Pierre Cardin in the 1960s was an innovator whose clothes made references to space travel and Op Art, and that Elsa Schiaparelli got her start by filling a rented Parisian studio with Armenian knitters. Contemporary fashions discussed include Armani's impeccable blazers as long as skirts, Pauline Trigere's slim, free-falling look, Kenzo's whimsical folk creations, Perry Ellis's blend of traditional and offbeat. All the big names are here: Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Patou, Fortuny, Rouff, Blass, etc. Literary Guild bonus selection. November
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Couture, which means, quite simply, dressmaking, is now considered an art form. Charles Frederick Worth, whose career began in the mid-19th century, is credited with elevating what was regarded as a mere trade to its present status; he created designs rather than follow the dictates of his clients. After the first chapter, "The Founders," Milbank groups the designers, somewhat arbitrarily, by type: Artists, Purists, Entertainers, Extravagants, Architects, Realists. Fortuny is among "The Artists"; Dior is one of "The Extravagants." The author gives a brief account, lavishly illustrated, of each couturier's work. A delightful book, this will appeal to anyone who appreciates exquisite clothes. Eleanor Riley, Getty Conservation Inst. Lib., Marina del Rey, Cal. See less