High Fashion: The 20th Century Decade by Decade

by Emmanuelle Dirix

A history of haute couture in the 20th century decade by decade Turning the pages of this lively book is like rummaging with a fancy dress box overflowing with clothes from the 20th century S Dirix is a fabulous guide Daily Mail What defined the way women dressed in the 1930s When did haute couture become offthepeg How did economic highs and lows influence style in the 1980s High Fashion answers these questions and more by exploring fashion design in the 20th century one decade at a time Each chapter looks at the significant stylistic changes that occurred in one decade and places them in a wider cultural and socioeconomic context The designers whose work best represents their era are profiled and their key looks deconstructed from the vertical silhouette of the 1900s to minimalism in the 1990s High Fashion combines thoughtful analysis with a carefully curated selection of archive images to create an invaluable resource for fashion students and a fascinating journey through 20thcentury style for fashionistas It reveals how styles have changed what those changes tell us about individuals and society at that time and how our current relationship with fashion was formed

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion

224 pages, Paperback

Published February 29, 2016

Reviews

[Moonlighting]

Great book, I love its clean structure naming key trends and designers for each decade. However it is not very long or in-depth, so there is much more knowledge out there. I give 4 stars because it is just shy from perfect and could do with more pictures ;) Good for reader who knows already something about history of haute couture and fashion world.

[Lily Scior-Lewis]

Fascinating historical overview but does not delve into overarching commentary in a conclusion, making the ending quite abrupt.