The Cocktail Dress - Hardcover

Borrelli-Persson, Laird

2.67

15 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006153613X ISBN 13: 9780061536137

Publisher: Collins Design, 2009

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Whether a lilac damask sheath trimmed in marabou, vintage Dior New Look with a nipped waist, a mini constructed of silver metallic plastic discs a la Paco Rabanne, or a streamlined black wool boucle number, the cocktail dress is an item of fancy, personal expression, the life of the party--and has been ever since its emergence in the 1920s.

With an essay and a gorgeous array of imagery selected by Laird Borrelli-Persson, The Cocktail Dress is the first volume to pay homage to this fashion classic. Along with an entertaining history of the dress and its evolution, the book features a dazzling presentation of cocktail frocks throughout fashion history. This colorful gallery includes fine art and photography, runway shots and design sketches, stills from classic films, and vintage magazine covers. Included are works by painters and photographers Otto Dix, Alex Katz, Raoul Dufy, Gordon Parks, and Edward Steichen, as well as illustrations by designers Chris Benz, Cynthia Rowley, Isaac Mizrahi, and Peter Som. Throughout are alluring images of fashion and film icons clad in stunning cocktail attire, among them Louise Brooks, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Wallis Simpson, Twiggy, Kate Moss, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Every page features showstopping creations by the world's most renowned fashion designers, from Cristobal Balenciaga and Christian Dior to Miuccia Prada and Alber Elbaz. The dresses are shown in full color throughout, paired with witty commentary on cocktail culture and couture from fashion personalities, fiction, and film. Extended captions at the back of the book provide details on each dress and its place in fashion history.

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Synopsis:

Like "The Black Dress", this book will contain an informative, fun introduction chronicling the history of cocktail dress throughout fashion history, a wealth of images including fine art and photography, film stills, fashion editorial and runway photography, vintage ads, magazine covers, and illustrations by the world's foremost fashion designers, artists, and photographers. Examples range from the hot pink number Audrey Hepburn made famous in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to the best contemporary renditions. Readers will see all the classic cocktail dresses designed by all the great designers, including Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Cristobal Balenciaga, Madeleine Vionnet, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Halston, Marc Jacobs, Lanvin, Karl Lagerfeld, Zac Posen, and of course, Christian Dior, who is credited with coining the term.The art will be equally diverse, including pochoir prints by Georges Lepape, paintings by Otto Dix, Raoul Dufy, and other famous artists, and illustrations by designers such as Cynthia Rowley and Isaac Mizrahi, created especially for this book.

Detailed captions at the back of book provide historical information for the reader that places the dresses in historical context.

About the Author:

Laird Borrelli-Persson is the senior features editor at Style.com. She studied at Boston College and Oxford University before getting her masters at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is the author of Fashion Illustration Now, Fashion Illustration Next, Net Mode: Web Fashion Now, Fashion Drawings by Fashion Designers, and Bags: A Lexicon of Style, which she coauthored with Valerie Steele. In addition, Borrelli-Persson contributes to a cadre of international magazines, and she is frequently called upon by various media outlets to comment on contemporary fashion.

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