Florence Muller

Costume Jewelry for Haute Couture' is for anyone with an interest in this most creative and accessible decorative art.It showcases the extraordinary diversity and exceptional craftsmanship of the jewelry in hundreds of beautifully reproduced pieces from such fashion houses as Chanel, Courr&232&894ges, Yves St Laurent and Lanvin.The story begins in antiquity, but the main focus is on costume jewelry’s heyday, which ran from the 1920s to the 1990s. The main stages in its development are placed in historical, social and cultural contexts, and in terms of their format and styles.The book also focuses on jewelry making and the partnerships between great couturiers, costume jewelers and craftsmen.

One of the most distinctive and influential designers of the second half of the twentieth century, Yves Saint Laurent takes his place in the pantheon of French couturiers, alongside Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Jeanne Lanvin. "Yves Saint Laurent" , the first comprehensive retrospective of his life's work, will accompany an exhibition of some 250 garments from the collection of the Fondation Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent at the Petit Palais in Paris. From his early days working under Dior an d heading the House of Dior after his mentor's death, to the opening of his first pret a porter shop on the Rive Gauche and the debut of the Le Smoking tuxedo, to the muses he adored, Loulou de la Falaise and Catherine Deneuve among them, this volume reveals the breadth and scope of the designer's entire career. With a preface by Pierre Berge, author Faride Chenoune explores the sources of inspiration that drove Saint Laurent's continuous innovation, drawing upon painting, sculpture, theatre, op era, literature, and cinema. The exhibition at the Petit Palais will run March 11-August 29, 2010, and it may also travel to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

"Inspirations Dior" offers an exclusive and comprehensive look into one of the world's most successful names in fashion. Showcasing works of art, archival photographs of the gowns and of fashion shows, unpublished images specifically taken for this c atalogue by Laziz Hamani, and sketches, this elaborately illustrated book also contains text from an impressive array of respected art and fashion experts - including Florence Muller, Edmonde Charles-Roux, Jacques Ranc, Vitali Michin, Irina Antonova, Bernard Arnault, John Galliano, Daniel Alcouffe, Stephane Guegan, and Frederic Bourdellier. Moving from 1947 to the present day, this book defines the roots of Dior style, showcasing the distinctive lines, materials, and shapes that have been loved throughout the decades. The first section of the book, 'Art and Fashion,' introduces the many aspects that make Dior unique, highlighting the corollaries between art, painting in particular, with the designs. Tracing themes and sources of inspiration , the second part of the book "The Waltz of Time" reveals how elements from the past - the French eighteenth century (a particularly significant era for Dior), the Belle Epoque, Ancient Egypt, and more-have influenced the designs. Then, the global na ture of Dior is explored, finding parallels with specific pieces in the art and culture of Spain, Russia, and Asia.

This volume is an unprecedented history of Louis Vuitton's women's bags, the most coveted line of accessories in women's fashion. At the heart of Louis Vuitton are its City Bags, a range of women's bags that dates back to the turn of the twentieth century. Featuring the trademark monograms of the house, the City Bag story began with the Steamer, a resort bag designed in 1901 to be packed inside a much larger steamer trunk. These bags have in a hundred years formally diversified into a dizzying array of handbags for every conceivable function demanded by the modern woman. Profoundly influential, City Bags are now known to millions by their descriptive names (Keepall, Bucket, Papillon, Alma, Locket, Noe, Speedy) and are still evolving into more fantastical forms. Lavishly illustrated with new and archival photography, historical graphics, landmark editorials, and ad campaigns, the volume traces the history of these specific bag families, and examines the earliest specimens and today's most sought-after collectibles, including Vuitton's collaborations with Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama, and Rei Kawakubo and one-off projects by Zaha Hadid, Shigeru Ban, Vivienne Westwood, Helmut Lang, Andree Putman, and of course, Marc Jacobs. Louis Vuitton: City Bags is an ambitious volume on the creation and cultivation of a cultural phenomenon.

From Paris to New York to Hollywood, from Geneva to Beijing, Piaget represents stylish elegance and technical prowess. This beautiful book traces the history of Piaget since its founding in 1874 to the present. Piaget's sophisticated creations have been worn by artists such as Dali and Warhol and some of the chicest women in the world, from Elizabeth Taylor to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Marisa Berenson. This spectacular book, filled with stunning new photography, offers a behind-the-scenes look into a world of unparalleled craftsmanship, sophistication and beauty.

"Inspirations Dior" offers an exclusive and comprehensive look into one of the world's most successful names in fashion. Showcasing works of art, archival photographs of the gowns and of fashion shows, unpublished images specifically taken for this c atalogue by Laziz Hamani, and sketches, this elaborately illustrated book also contains text from an impressive array of respected art and fashion experts - including Florence Muller, Edmonde Charles-Roux, Jacques Ranc, Vitali Michin, Irina Antonova, Bernard Arnault, John Galliano, Daniel Alcouffe, Stephane Guegan, and Frederic Bourdellier. Moving from 1947 to the present day, this book defines the roots of Dior style, showcasing the distinctive lines, materials, and shapes that have been loved throughout the decades. The first section of the book, 'Art and Fashion,' introduces the many aspects that make Dior unique, highlighting the corollaries between art, painting in particular, with the designs. Tracing themes and sources of inspiration , the second part of the book "The Waltz of Time" reveals how elements from the past - the French eighteenth century (a particularly significant era for Dior), the Belle Epoque, Ancient Egypt, and more-have influenced the designs. Then, the global na ture of Dior is explored, finding parallels with specific pieces in the art and culture of Spain, Russia, and Asia.