Infra-apparel - Softcover

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Softcover

ISBN 10: 0870996762 ISBN 13: 9780870996764

Publisher: Distributed by H.N. Abrams

Since the 18th century clothing has tended to reveal its framework and inner layers, blurring the line between the private realm and the public presentation. One generation's hidden structures are another's conspicuous designs; one generation's undergarments are another's flaunted outergarments. From the "chemise a la reine" that Marie Antoinette preferred over formal court dress to the "Express Yourself" ensemble of Jean Paul Gaultier, we recognize the indecorousness of visible underwear, the shock of peek-a-boo clothes, the taboo and titillation of holes in clothing. This tradition is called Infra-Apparel by the authors of this book, which explores fashion's historic encroachment on the boundaries of the intimate and personal. Published to accompany the exhibition at the New Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the book contains text by the Institute's new curators, Richard Martin and Harold Koda, with photographs by Neil Selkirk, along with paintings by Vigee Le Brun, Seurat and Manet. Among the designers whose work is represented are Cristobal Balenciaga, Jacques Fath, Mariano Fortuny, Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi and for Chanel, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, Calvin Klein, Jean Paul Gaultier, Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Bill Blass, Josie Natori and Gianni Versace.

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