The Great Fashion Designers

Front Cover
Berg, Oct 1, 2009 - Design - 252 pages
Over the course of the last 180 years, designers have propelled fashion from an elite craft into a cornerstone of popular culture. This brilliantly written guide to the lives and collections of 55 iconic fashion designers draws on the latest academic research and the best of fashion journalism, including the authors' own interviews with designers. Beginning with 19th century couturier Charles Frederick Worth and concluding with the star names of the 2010s, Polan and Tredre detail each designer's working methods and career highlights with engaging essays that capture the spirit of their times.

This revised edition has hundreds of inspiring colour photos and features five new designer profiles: Hedi Slimane, Raf Simons, Phoebe Philo, Alessandro Michele and Demna Gvasalia. It's also been updated throughout to reflect a fashion world in constant ferment, with designers swapping jobs and fashion houses at unprecedented speed. The industry has expanded into a global phenomenon and designers have emerged as true celebrities; The Great Fashion Designers explores their passion and flair, showing us fashion at its most inspirational.
 

Contents

25 ANDRÉ COURRÈGES 1923
122
26 VALENTINO 1932
129
27 KARL LAGERFELD 1938
133
28 HALSTON 19321990
136
29 KENZO 1939
140
30 RALPH LAUREN 1939
144
31 ISSEY MIYAKE 1935
151
32 GEOFFREY BEENE 19272004
155

5 MARIANO FORTUNY 18711949
25
Introduction
30
6 JEANNE LANVIN 18671946
35
7 GABRIELLE CHANEL 18831971
39
8 JEAN PATOU 18801936
43
9 MADELEINE VIONNET 18761975
47
10 ELSA SCHIAPARELLI 18901973
51
11 MAINBOCHER 18901976
55
12 ADRIAN 19031959
58
13 SALVATORE FERRAGAMO 18981960
62
14 MADAME ALIX GRÈS 19031993
67
PART 3 1940s1950s
71
Introduction
73
15 CRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA 18951972
77
16 CHRISTIAN DIOR 19051957
83
17 CHARLES JAMES 19061978
87
18 CLAIRE MCCARDELL 19051958
90
19 HUBERT DE GIVENCHY 1927
95
20 PIERRE CARDIN 1922
98
21 MARY QUANT 1934
102
22 RUDI GERNREICH 19221985
106
PART 4 1960s1970s
111
Introduction
113
23 NORMAN NORELL 19001972
115
24 YVES SAINT LAURENT 19362008
118
33 CALVIN KLEIN 1942
161
34 GIORGIO ARMANI 1934
167
PART 5 1980s
171
Introduction
173
35 REI KAWAKUBO 1942
175
36 YOHJI YAMAMOTO 1943
179
37 VIVIENNE WESTWOOD 1941
183
38 PAUL SMITH 1946
187
39 AZZEDINE ALAIA c 1940
190
40 GIANNI VERSACE 19461997
195
41 JEAN PAUL GAULTIER 1952
200
42 DOLCE GABBANA DOMENICO DOLCE 1958 STEFANO GABBANA 1962
205
43 JOHN GALLIANO 1960
211
44 DONNA KARAN 1948
214
PART 6 1990s
219
Introduction
221
45 MIUCCIA PRADA 1949
225
46 MARTIN MARGIELA 1959
228
47 MARC JACOBS 1963
234
48 TOM FORD 1962
238
49 ALEXANDER MCQUEEN 1969
242
50 NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE 1971
247
ILLUSTRATIONS
251
BIBLIOGRAPHY
253
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Brenda Polan is a fashion writer, editor, lecturer and academic. She was fashion editor and women's page editor of The Guardian in the 1980s and has written for all Britain's major newspapers and many magazines. She was formerly the programme director (Media) at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London.

Roger Tredre
is the course leader for the MA in fashion communication at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. He worked in newspaper fashion journalism in the 1990s and was the first editor-in-chief of WGSN, the online fashion trends and research business.

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