McQueen found inspiration for his avant-garde collections everywhere: his Scottish ancestry, Alfred Hitchcock movies, Yoruba mythology, the destruction of the environment—even the fashion industry itself. Whatever his inspiration, however, McQueen’s concept for his runway show came first and was crucial to the development of the collection. Every show had a narrative and was staged with his characteristic dramatic flair. Highland Rape featured disheveled models smeared with “blood” staggering down the runway in town clothes. In Scanners, two robots sprayed paint on a model trapped on a spinning platform. In Widows of Culloden, a hologram of supermodel Kate Moss held center stage. Other McQueen shows staged models walking through water, drifting snowflakes, rain, and wind tunnels; pole-dancing in garish makeup at a carnival, playing living pieces in a bizarre chess game, and performing with trained dancers in a Depression-era-style marathon. Illustrated throughout with stunning photography and liberally sprinkled with quotations from McQueen and those who knew him best, Alexander McQueen: Evolution is the story of the designer’s thirty-five runway shows and the genius behind them.

    The end of the sixteenth century was marked by the Inquisition and Counter-Reformation, a background of ideological war against which, despite all odds, brilliant feats of art and science were achieved. No artist captured the dark, violent spirit of the time better than Caravaggio, variously known as Marisi, Moriggia, Merigi, and sometimes, simply M. As art critic Robert Hughes has said, "There was art before him and art after him, and they were not the same." Robb's masterful biography "re-creates the mirror Cravaggio held up to nature," as Hilary Spurling wrote in The New York Times Book Review, "with singular delicacy as well as passion and panache."

    From short tunics worn by Saxon men in the fifth century to a lady's bustle dress of the late 1800s, this profusely illustrated text contains a wealth of authentic patterns. Information on pattern sizes, materials required, and methods of sewing accompany simply drawn diagrams for Elizabethan doublets, capes, and trunks; a man's coat and vest from the Restoration period; a lady's bell-shaped gown of the eighteenth century; an early-nineteenth-century empire gown; a crinoline; and other wardrobe items.Diagrams have been carefully and accurately drawn to scale from working patterns, and detailed notes for making costumes include suggestions for the most suitable colors and textures to be used for costumes of particular historical periods. A final section includes diagrams and information for creating period headdresses, caps, and hoods. Students of costume design, home tailors, and community drama groups will welcome this carefully researched guide to fifteen centuries of English fashions.

    Each carefully selected image represents an artistic collaboration with significant models, stylists, and designers. Avedon Fashion accompanies the first major exhibition to survey this body of work, at the International Center of Photography in May 2009. With critical essays by Carol Squiers, curator at the ICP, and photography critic Vince Aletti, as well as an appreciation by photo-historian Philippe Garner, Avedon Fashion chronicles an astonishing record of photographic achievement.

    The majority of the fourteen queens considered here, from Catherine de Valois and Elizabeth Woodville to Elizabeth of York, Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr, were consorts, the wives of kings. Although less frequently examined than ruling queens, queen consorts played a crucial and central role within the Royal Court. Their first duty was to bear children and their chastity within marriage had to be above reproach. Any suspicion of sexual misconduct would cast doubt on the legitimacy of their offspring. Three of these women Margaret of Anjou, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were accused of such conduct, and two were tried and executed. A queen also had to contribute to her husband's royal image. This could be through works of piety or through humble intercession. It could also be through her fecundity because the fathering of many children was a sign of virility and of divine blessing. A queen might also make a tangible contribution to her husband's power with her marriage as the symbol of an international diplomatic agreement. A ruling queen was very different, especially if she was married, insofar as she had to fill the roles of both king and queen. No woman could be both martial and virile, and at the same time submissive and supportive. Mary I solved this problem in a constitutional sense but never at the personal level. Elizabeth I sacrificed motherhood by not marrying. She chose to be mysterious and unattainable "la belle dame sans merci." In later life she used her virginity to symbolize the integrity of her realm and her subjects remained fascinated by her unorthodoxy. How did they behave (in and out of the bedchamber)? How powerful were they as patrons of learning and the arts? What religious views did they espouse and why? How successful and influential were they? From convenient accessory to sovereign lady the role of queen was critical, colorful, and often dramatic. "The Tudor Queens of England" is the first book of its kind to intimately examine these questions and more.

    . . thoroughness and most impressive scholarship . . . much entertaining detail and . . . pleasant humour." — The Times Literary Supplement (London)Underwear — practical garments with a utilitarian function or body coverings that serve an erotic purpose? As this fascinating and intelligently written study shows, the role played by underclothing over the last several centuries has been a varied one.In a well-documented, profusely illustrated volume combining impressive scholarship with an entertaining, often humorous style, two distinguished clothing historians consider undergarments worn by the English over the past 600 years. Beginning with the Middle Ages, the authors cover centuries of clothing history, including the Tudor period, the Restoration, the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and the twentieth century up to the eve of World War II. Drawing on extensive, research, the Cunningtons illuminate the role and function of underwear: it protected the wearer against the elements, supported costume shapes, served as an erotic stimulus, symbolized class distinctions, and fulfilled other social, sanitary, and economic functions. Enhancing the detailed, comprehensive text are more than 100 period illustrations and photographs depicting a laced-up bodice of the twelfth century, embroidered linen drawers of the sixteenth century, a hooped petticoat support in bentwood (c. 1750), footed long drawers (1795), nineteenth-century bustles, early nineteenth-century corsets for men, "Frillies for the Tiny Lady" (1939), and much more. A bibliography, appendix, and index complete a valuable reference work that will appeal to costume historians, sociologists, and other readers.

    Once the girls step inside the elegant building - surrounded by luxurious dresses and beautiful accessories - the hardships of their own lives are temporarily forgotten. Serving a variety of curious customers, from glamorous gypsy queens to genuine royalty and stuffy academics to the city's fashionable elite, the store is a place where these young women can forge successful careers, under the ever-watchful eye of flamboyant owner Mr Heyworth. Set against the backdrop of the closing years of the Second World War, and moving into the 1950s, The Shop Girls perfectly captures the camaraderie and friendship of four ambitious young women working together in a store that offered them an escape from the drudgery of their wartime childhoods. Each of the girls' stories will be individually published from July 2014 in fortnightly serialised ebooks, leading up to the release of the complete edition (with bonus material) in September.

    Lauren Stowell and Abby Cox, owners of the popular online store American Duchess, have teamed together to recreate four complete dresses from the 18th century. Whether readers are experienced seamstresses or are new to hand sewing, they won’t want to miss this comprehensive guide. The projects include The English Gown, The Sacque, The Italian Gown and The Round Gown. Each project is broken down into easy-to-follow steps and Lauren and Abby tackle every detail—fabric, patterns, stitch techniques, accessories, shortcuts and troubleshooting. Whether you choose a romantic 1790s muslin gown or a grand sacque gown of silk taffeta, you will feel like you just stepped out of your favorite novel or period of history. Lauren and Abby’s company, American Duchess, has been featured on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Reno Gazette Journal, the Today Show and Garmz.com. Their historically accurate shoes have been used in productions by the New York Metropolitan Opera, Ford’s Theater, Broadway’s Cinderella, The Jimmy Fallon Show and The Knick. Lauren and Abby have over 32k Facebook followers and over 34k followers on Instagram.

    Filled with indispensable information about every aspect of fashion from 500 BCE to now, this encyclopedic reference highlights in detail key pieces that epitomize certain styles. It profiles fashion icons to show how one designer or style influences another, explains the impact of cultural and historical events on daily wear, and demonstrates how technical innovation can take fashion in new directions. Engaging, all-encompassing, and overflowing with illustrations, this is an indispensable resource for anyone who loves fashion.

    This book takes a detailed look at the background and impact of The Ambassador. Driven by the vision of founder Hans Juda and his wife, Elsbeth, who was responsible for much of the magazine’s striking photography, the magazine created ambitious photo shoots to showcasing the latest couture fashions, promoted fine art as an inspiration for design, and commissioned artists such as John Piper and Henry Moore for their covers. The Ambassador Magazine brings this trove of art, textiles, and fashion to a new generation.

    In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women.Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture.Elizabeth Wayland Barber has drawn from data gathered by the most sophisticated new archaeological methods—methods she herself helped to fashion.

    Despite making up less than 1% of the country's population, they are the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarised 'debate', which generates reliable controversy for newspapers and talk shows. This media frenzy conceals a simple fact: that we are having the wrong conversation, a conversation in which trans people themselves are reduced to a talking point and denied a meaningful voice.In this powerful new book, Shon Faye reclaims the idea of the 'transgender issue' to uncover the reality of what it means to be trans in a transphobic society. In doing so, she provides a compelling, wide-ranging analysis of trans lives from youth to old age, exploring work, family, housing, healthcare, the prison system, and trans participation in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities, in contemporary Britain and beyond.The Transgender Issue is a landmark work that signals the beginning of a new, healthier conversation about trans life. It is a manifesto for change, and a call for justice and solidarity between all marginalised people and minorities. Trans liberation, as Faye sees it, goes to the root of what our society is and what it could be; it offers the possibility of a more just, free and joyful world for all of us.

    The book also offers an overview of the development of fashion, as seen through the eyes of the greatest illustrators of the day. Early in the century fashion illustration reflected new, liberating currents in art and culture, such as the exoticism of the Ballets Russes, while the postwar period saw inspiration from the great Parisian couturiers. After the dominance of the celebrity fashion photographer in the '60s, a new generation of illustrators emerged, embracing the medium of the computer, while many returned to more traditional techniques.

    Conceived as a handbook and teaching aid for artists, instructors, and students, this timeless book presents Albers’s unique ideas of color experimentation in a way that is valuable to specialists as well as to a larger audience.Originally published by Yale University Press in 1963 as a limited silkscreen edition with 150 color plates, Interaction of Color first appeared in paperback in 1971, featuring ten representative color studies chosen by Albers. The paperback has remained in print ever since and is one of the most influential resources on color for countless readers.This new paperback edition presents a significantly expanded selection of more than thirty color studies alongside Albers’s original unabridged text, demonstrating such principles as color relativity, intensity, and temperature; vibrating and vanishing boundaries; and the illusions of transparency and reversed grounds. Now available in a larger format and with enhanced production values, this expanded edition celebrates the unique authority of Albers’s contribution to color theory and brings the artist’s iconic study to an eager new generation of readers.

    A painting shows a military officer in a Dutch sitting room, talking to a laughing girl. In another, a woman at a window weighs pieces of silver. Vermeer's images captivate us with their beauty and mystery: What stories lie behind these stunningly rendered moments? As Timothy Brook shows us, these pictures, which seem so intimate, actually offer a remarkable view of a rapidly expanding world. The officer's dashing hat is made of beaver fur, which European explorers got from Native Americans in exchange for weapons. Those beaver pelts, in turn, financed the voyages of sailors seeking new routes to China. There--with silver mined in Peru--Europeans would purchase, by the thousands, the porcelains so often shown in Dutch paintings of this time. Moving outward from Vermeer's studio, Brook traces the web of trade that was spreading across the globe. The wharves of Holland, wrote a French visitor, were an inventory of the possible. Vermeer's Hat shows just how rich this inventory was, and how the urge to acquire the goods of distant lands was refashioning the world more powerfully than we have yet understood.