Couture Fashion Today: Japanese and Western Designers

Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series)

Throughout our entire history we have used clothing and accessories to lift, squeeze, frame and pad the body. In Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed Harold Koda deftly weaves sociology, anthropology, art history, and haute couture into a lively survey of shifting notions of what we consider the ideal body form; particularly the female form.

High-heeled shoes, push-up bras, Elizabethan ruffs and Japanese platform clogs are just a few examples of clothing that have pushed and pulled the human form into new shapes during the last centuries. Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed, which accompanies a Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit of the same name, uses color photos and illustrations to help trace the role of fashion in manipulating the body to fit physical ideals of the human form.

Harold Koda, curator of the Met's Costume Institute, focuses on extreme exaggerations of human form like the European 19th-century bustle, tiny corseted waists or the enormous-hipped dresses of the 18th-century French court, but also shows how today's designers re-invent these iconic shapes.

Pattern Magic

Pattern Magic is the cult pattern-making book from Japan. Taking inspiration from geometric shapes, from nature, and from the street, this book harnesses the sheer joy of making and sculpting clothes! The book takes a creative approach to pattern making, with step-by-step projects for fashion designers and dressmakers to enjoy. Each project is beautifully illustrated with clear diagrams and photographs showing the stages of construction, the muslin patterns, and the finished garments.

Pattern Magic 2

Pattern Magic 2 is the cult pattern-cutting book from Japan; partner to the original title Pattern Magic. Inspiring and exciting, this volume takes a creative approach to pattern cutting-- with more step-by-step projects for fashion designers and dressmakers to enjoy. These easy-to-follow illustrations and detailed instructions make it easy to create stunning, sculptural clothes.

The Cutting Edge: Fashion from Japan

The story of Japanese Fashion, while both brief and extraordinary, has challenged Western notions of fashion and aesthetics. The Cutting Edge examines this story and looks at the work of nineteen designers. Pioneers Hanae Mori, Kenzo Takada and the "Big 3" -- Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto-- are featured, and the exciting work of a new generation of designers, led by Junya Watanabe and Jun Takahashi, is also discussed.

The influences and events that have helped shape the Japanese fashion industry are wide and varied. From the impact of post-war Japanese society and the influence of Japan's ancient textile tradition to the adoption of advanced technology, the story which unfolds is consistently fascinating.

Combining an absorbing narrative along with designers' profiles and over one hundred color images, The Cutting Edge provides valuable insights into the birth and development of Japan's very innovative and influential fashion industry. As such, it is essential reading for fashion specialists; textile makers and designers; students of fashion, design and visual arts and anyone interested in contemporary Japanese culture and influence. Makes the perfect gift.

Wild: Fashion Untamed (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series)

Wild: Fashion Untamed is an extensive exploration of man's continuing obsession with animalism as expressed through fashion.

Since prehistoric times, furs and feathers have been used not only for warmth and protection, but also for display and adornment. Offering lively insights into the decorative possibilities of pelts and plumes, WILD: Fashion Untamed examines fur's ability to announce the wealth and status of the wearer by looking at the clothing of Renaissance aristocrats as well as that of contemporary Hip-Hop performers such as P. Diddy and Missy Elliott.

"WILD: Fashion Untamed also examines how pelts and plumes have come to define the ideals of femininity by referencing the physical and sexual characteristics of birds and beasts. Examples used include an array of designs by couture designers Azzedine Alaïa, Roberto Cavalli, Dolce and Gabbana, John Galliano for Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, and Yohji Yamamoto. The book also examines the fantastical feathered costumes of Las Vegas showgirls and the coquettish "birds of paradise" creations by milliners Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy.

Lavishly illustrated and entertainingly written, WILD: Fashion Untimed reveals how animal apparel, whether in the form of fur, plumes, prints, or animal symbolism, has represented and will continue to represent one of man's more primal instincts.This book accompanies an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art by the same name. (November 9, 2004, to February 13, 2005).

Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation

This tribute to Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) celebrates the genius of an iconic, imaginative, and inspirational fashion designer with more than 125 catwalk photographs of his work in addition to commentary from an experienced fashion journalist and tributes by prominent people in the fashion world.

Also included are photographs from his last collection, presented at Paris Fashion Week in 2010, and hailed by international media and fashion reviewers. The Guardian called it "truly spectacular... a triumph"; the L.A. Times praised it as "masterpieces... runway showstoppers"; The Telegraph raved "The designs were vivid, dramatic and evocative... an emphatic demonstration of the intense skill and artistry of McQueen" and The New York Times reviewed as "His vision of Gothic glory, with a world bathed in religious symbolism, was translated not just with immense subtlety and beauty but also with the urgent futurism that was the essence of his spirit."

McQueen's dramatic designs were artistically successful and internationally recognized. He earned the British Designer of the Year award four times and his work was particularly favored by his celebrity clients including Sarah Jessica Parker, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Bjork, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

Karlie Kloss, in Alexander McQueen, inspired by The Ballet Russe. Photographed by Tim Walker for British VOGUE.

British newspapers are reporting that Sarah Burton, the creative director of the late Alexander McQueen's design house, has been chosen to make Kate Middleton's bridal gown. Burton, 36, had worked with McQueen for years and has been hailed as a highly original talent.

But according to British Fashion Council if someone is chosen to design Kate's gown, it would come with a condition of strict secrecy until Middleton and Prince William's wedding on April 29. Palace officials have refused to disclose any information on the identity of the designer. Seems we will have to wait to see who is chosen!

April 29, 2011-- Sarah Burton, of Alexander McQueen, DID design Kate Middleton's dress! The dress was both beautiful and elegant! Kate herself was truly regal on her and Prince William's wedding day.

Read the statement released by Sarah Burton on April 29, 2011.

Read Sarah Burton's biography.

Isabella Blow

From her early days bringing legendary artists such as Michel Basquiat into the offices of American Vogue to the twenty-first-century drama of her televised attempted takeover of the Indian and Middle-Eastern fashion industries, the awesome Isabella Blow pushed boundaries in the fashion world-- using her personality as her most offensive weapon!

Famous for discovering talents such as Alexander McQueen, Sophie Dahl, and Hussein Chalayan, she nurtured and inspired artists and designers throughout the fashion industry, as well as serving as muse to the well-known milliner Philip Treacy. She was also a unique stylist, collaborating with major photographers such as Sean Ellis and Robert Astley Sparke on infamous shoots that combined both the gothic and the erotic.

Martina Rink has brought together all those who were moved, influenced, discovered, and inspired by Isabella, in a volume that celebrates not only her life, but also her outrageous personality, which left an indelible mark on all who met her.

Texts and personal letters written exclusively for this book have been collected from legendary names in the fashion world, from Mario Testino and Manolo Blahnik to Hussein Chalayan and Anna Wintour. There are photographs by some of fashion's greatest photographers, including Rankin, Donald McPherson, and Richard Burbridge, and illustrations by Hilary Knight and Paul Smith, in this homage to Isabella that celebrates her astonishing life.

Japan Fashion Now

Scholars have long acknowledged the significance of the Japanese "Fashion Revolution" of the 1980s, when avant-garde designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons introduced a radically new conception of fashion. But what has happened in the years since then?

Lavishly illustrated, Japan Fashion Now will be the first book to explore how Japanese fashion has evolved in recent years. During this time, Japanese pop culture has swept the world, as young people everywhere read manga, watch anime, and play video games. Japan has had a profound impact on global culture, often via new media.

With essays by Valerie Steele ("Is Japan Still the Future?"), Patricia Mears ("Fashion Revolution"), Hiroshi Narumi ("Japanese Street Style"), and Yuniya Kawamura ("Japanese Fashion Subcultures"), Japan Fashion Now explores how the world of fashion has been transformed by contemporary Japanese visual culture.

Kenzo

An extraordinary collectible itself, Kenzo creatively presents forty years of the Paris-based fashion house, founded by Japanese designer Kenzo Takada and now in a resurgence under artistic director Antonio Marras. Established in 1970 by Kenzo Takada, who had arrived in Paris from Japan in 1965, KENZO is one of the great French houses that transformed global fashion in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Now under the artistic directorship of Antonio Marras, KENZO has again achieved critical and popular acclaim. Marras draws from the rich vein of Kenzo tradition as it engages the spirit of the new century.

Armed with an unmatched vocabulary in prints and textiles, Marras mines both East and West, the present and the past, to create a collection that evokes, reveres, and reinvents the intentions of its founder. The highlights of Kenzo Takada's tenure until his retirement in 1999 are also documented here.

The first monograph on KENZO, this lavish volume comes in a real fabric cover, available in three different patterns, and with a pop-up that evokes the romantic textiles, envelopes, and paper craft for which the house's fashion collection invitations are known. Additional special features include three double-sided double gatefolds, folding out to the equivalent of eight pages, and three accordian gatefolds, folding out to five pages.

This book is truly an art object in and of itself.

Anna Sui

Anna Sui's trendsetting rock-and-roll looks have helped make her one of this decade's top five fashion icons !(Time) Here, in the first book to cover the entire scope of Sui's twenty-year career, fans get rare access to the designer's creative process.

This richly visual retrospective celebrates her influence, from her first show that snared the support of supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Kate Moss to the role she's played in making the babydoll dress one of fashion's most iconic silhouettes. With more than 400 photographs from legendary photographers, this exquisite tome with a shimmering foil-stamped cover is essential for all interested in fashion couture.

The Japanese Revolution in Paris Fashion (Dress, Body, Culture)

Paris is renowned as the greatest fashion capital in the entire world. It has a rigid and tightly controlled system that non-western designers have difficulty penetrating. Yet a number of the most influential Japanese designers have broken into this scene and made a major impact. How?

Kawamura shows how French fashion has been both disturbed, and strengthened, by the addition of "outside" forces such as Kenzo Takada, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, and Hanae Mori.

She considers many other key questions the fashion industry should be asking itself. Does the system facilitate or inhibit creativity? Has it become preoccupied with the commercial projection of "product images" rather than with the clothing itself? And what direction will French fashion take without the old masters like Saint Laurent, Miyake and Kenzo?

This is the first in-depth study of the Japanese Revolution in Paris fashion and raises provocative questions for the future of the industry.

Yohji Yamamoto (Memoirs)

Since his first notorious Paris show in 1981, the Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto has extended his influence year after year. His recent collections reveal him to be firmly in the ranks of the world's greatest designers.

This disciplined, secretive, and subversive man has, during fifteen years of ferocious work, succeeded in overturning all the rules of contemporary fashion and in rejecting every traditional cliché notion of what a glamorous woman should look like.

Yamamoto can move effortlessly from the task of making a simple white shirt to the complex cutting of an evening dress. He draws from fashion's past and creates future. He is constructing a new approach to clothing in the post-industrial, late twentieth century world, bringing together the best of both the East and the West.

"I know it's just fabric. But it speaks to us like a world. If it were a desert and you were a traveler, you would talk about it's winds, it's stars, it's sun. You probably will." Yohji Yamamoto

Minimalism and Fashion: Reduction in the Postmodern Era

Minimalism and Fashion examines the minimalist movement in fashion and its confluence with and divergence from similar movements in art, architecture, and design. Organized by decade, the text explores the evolving relationships and influences between fine art and the art of sartorial minimalism, and is accompanied by more than 150 images.

This volume considers the work of the world's most important designers and artists in fascinating juxtaposition. It contains creations by noteworthy designers, including Madeleine Vionnet, AndrÉ CourrÈges, Halston, Karl Lagerfeld, Rei Kawakubo, Miuccia Prada, Yohji Yamamoto, Helmut Lang, and others. There are major works by such key minimalist artists as Frank Stella, Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Rachel Whiteread, Peter Halley, and Jeff Koons.

The volume's photography includes editorial shots by the greatest image makers of this century and the previous, including Richard Avedon, Hiro, Francesco Scavullo, Guy Bourdin, David Bailey, William Klein, Corinne Day, and Juergen Teller. The dialogue among fine art, photography, and fashion is explored in a brilliantly woven text that attempts to clarify how each form has influenced the other. With its extraordinary art and insight, this book is a must for lovers of fashion as well as fine art and photography.

Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto is one of fashion's continual innovators. This book gives a fascinating insight into his working approach and his relationships with other creative people. This includes an insightful interview with Yamamoto, as well as a roundtable discussion with some of his key collaborators, including Nick Knight, Peter Saville, and Marc Ascoli. Photographer Max Vadukal, who has been working with Yamamoto for more than 25 years, is interviewed by Terry Jones, and long-time collaborator Masao Nihei contributes an essay on some of the wider influences on Yamamoto's designs and how they are presented.

Beautifully illustrated, this will be an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in couture fashion and design.

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