The World According to Karl: The Wit and Wisdom of Karl Lagerfeld by Jean-Christophe Napias and Sandrine Gulbenkian - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2018-09-20 - 176 pages.
Karl Lagerfeld is a modern master of couture. He is also famously outspoken: his wise, surprising statements pop up like offbeat news flashes. This collection of quotations pays homage to the legendary éminence grise of the fashion world. Lagerfeld’s pronouncements – on fashion, women, art, politics, love, and life high and low – are famously oracular, seized upon by fashionistas, acolytes and sages around the world. Created with the full approval of the designer himself, this cornucopia of Lagerfeld’s maxims is required reading for us all today as we negotiate the trickiest curves of modern life. Cultivated, unpredictable, provocative, sometimes shocking, Lagerfeld’s ‘bons mots’ are always impossible to ignore.
Coco Chanel: An Essence of Mystery by Isabelle Fiemeyer - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2023-09-14 - 224 pages.
An updated authorized edition of Isabelle Fiemeyer’s literary biography of Coco Chanel, which demystifies the legendary designer’s life.
Coco Chanel was an emancipated fashion revolutionary. Raised by nuns in an orphanage, she rose to become a star of the world of couture and a byword for stylish elegance. But now, a fascinating new light can be shed on her life and career.
During the Second World War, Chanel closed her couture house, but accepted the enemy’s help in rescuing her beloved nephew from a prison camp. However, as newly declassified information reveals, she did not supply any information in exchange for this favour. Moreover, it now seems that she was unknowingly listed as an agent because of her British connections and friendship with Winston Churchill.
Featuring unpublished and exclusive content based on first-hand interviews with Chanel’s great-niece and confidante, this evocative portrait is based on years of painstaking archive research and tells the true story of the twentieth century’s most celebrated yet enigmatic fashion icon.
Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections by Alexandre Samson and Anders Christian Madsen - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 2023-11-16 - 632 pages.
The first and only comprehensive overview of Givenchy’s collections, presented through catwalk photography and published in collaboration with the celebrated fashion house.
Founded by the dashing Hubert de Givenchy in 1952, the house would go on to symbolize the height of effortless elegance, as embodied by Givenchy’s muse (and close friend) Audrey Hepburn. After its founder’s retirement in 1995, John Galliano first took the reins of the house, before being succeeded by a young Alexander McQueen, who created his first (and only) haute couture collections for Givenchy. More recently, Italian designer Riccardo Tisci took the brand into a resolutely contemporary direction following his appointment in 2005 (dressing icons such as Beyoncé), followed by Clare Waight Keller and American designer Matthew M. Williams.
This definitive publication – the only monograph in print on the house of Givenchy – opens with a concise history of the fashion house before exploring the collections themselves, which are organized chronologically. Each new era in Givenchy’s history opens with a brief overview and biography of the new designer, while individual collections are introduced by a short text unveiling their influences and highlights, illustrated with carefully curated catwalk images. A rich reference section, including an extensive index, concludes the book.
After Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Vivienne Westwood, Versace and Chloé, Givenchy is the ninth in a series of high-end, clothbound books that offer an unrivalled overview of the collections of the world’s top fashion houses through original catwalk photography.
