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This luxurious compendium of silk is the ultimate celebration of one of the world’s most revered fabrics. Silk reveals a breathtaking selection of fabric and fiber dating from antiquity to the early twenty-first century. Structured by technique, this outstanding new survey draws on the exceptional collections of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and shows the nest aesthetic and technical achievements of artisans, designers, and manufacturers. From dyeing to weaving and crochet to embroidery, this is a magnificent visual exploration of methods used over the centuries. From historic treasures in China and South America to nineteenth-century European International Exhibitions of art and industry, and more recently, designers’ catwalk collections from the fashion capitals of America, Asia, and Europe, including pieces by Dior, Balenciaga, and McQueen, here is the ultimate compendium of silk, presented in a luxurious real-cloth binding. Silk is the authoritative sourcebook, exploring methods and traditions across the history and geography of silk production, and celebrating the ingenuity and skill of designers and makers.
"In 1764, British Customs confiscated a book containing hundreds of silk samples of different qualities from French agents who were attempting to sell them illegally in London. The merchant's sample book acquired in 1972 by the V & A may be this very book, a fascinating record of the eighteenth-century French and English silk industries and their commercial practices. Alongside a full and faithful reproduction of the whole album, Lesley Miller sets in context the role of the book as a marketing tool from the premier European silk-weaving centre of Lyon and as a model for Spitalfields manufacturers. This publication makes accessible the contents of an extremely rare and fragile object. Translations of French inscriptions, identification of how samples have migrated from one page to another, and technical analysis of some of the silks, as well as a glossary and biographical data on the Lyonnais suppliers make this an invaluable resource for historians, collectors and designers."--Publisher's description.
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First published by V&A Publishing in 2007. This revised and expanded edition is published to accompany the exhibition "Balenciaga: shaping fashion" held 27 May 2017 - 18 February 2018, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Today's global luxury brand Balenciaga owes its name and existence to one of the twentieth century's most innovative fashion designers, the internationally renowned Basque Cristobal Balenciaga. Miren Arzalluz's in-depth study reveals the roots of Balenciaga's Parisian success, unveiling his formative experiences and achievements in Spain against the backdrop of his social and cultural heritage. In extraordinary detail, this fascinating book examines how and where garments were made, and why some demonstrate the cutting edge of fashion while others may seem conservative. Arzalluz reveals the importance of family and friends, as well as patrons and employees in establishing Balenciaga's reputation and his sensitivity to the economic and political environment.
Considering silk as a major force of cross-cultural interaction, this book examines the integration of silk production and consumption into various cultures in the pre-modern world.
“Balenciaga is fashion's Picasso.”—Cecil Beaton More than three decades after his death, the Spanish couturier Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972) has become a legendary figure in the history of 20th-century fashion. His name is now synonymous with clothes made to the highest standards and characterized by their sculptural quality, deft manipulation of textiles, and dramatic use of color. This absorbing new book, with breathtaking illustrations, examines Balenciaga's design and business and places him firmly in the context of the time and country in which he learned his trade—and the international fashion scene in which he subsequently matured and triumphed. This stunning book is published to accompany The Golden Age of Couture, a major exhibition opening at the V&A in September 2007.
Baroque, the cultural period extending from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century, created some of the world's most striking monuments, music, artworks, and literature. This Handbook goes beyond all existing studies by presenting Baroque not only as a style, but also as a global cultural phenomenon arising in response to enormous religious, political, and technological changes.
A cloth bag containing ten copies of the title.