As a part of my need to play catch up (I took on too many projects recently), I’m starting a summer series to share the giant stack of new books that have come through my front door. And you’ll be happy to know that I’m focusing on the good ones! I (and a few contributors), will be covering everything from the fashion illustration history, some major new works cover 20th century fashion history, new works on the field of dress, Hair (and more as the books roll in!) Stay tuned !
First on my list of ‘must read’s’ this summer is the giant, beautiful and highly informative Fashion and the Art of Pochoir: The Golden Age of Illustration in Paris by April Calahan and Cassidy Zachary (Thames & Hudson, November 2015). The fact that the book is dedicated to Dr. Lourdes Font (“whose passion and vast knowledge have inspired an entire generation of fashion historians”), tells me that these authors are on point and know their stuff (#FontFan over here!)
Highly illustrated and beautifully designed, the book appears to be a happy marriage of style and substance, full of interesting looking, well-documented essays (yeah for footnotes in a legible size!). The book covers 1908-1925, and focuses on the “centuries-old hand-stenciling technique known as pochoir,” though it does include a good many photographs for garment comparison. I love this time period, and love that this book is an easy reference to the well-loved and such famous illustrations and artists. I can’t wait to dig in !
“Collectively, the ten publications featured in this book document a fashion revolution, in terms of both the clothing depicted and the practice of fashion illustration itself. The groundbreaking illustration styles seen in the pages of these albums and magazines were born out of the need to represent the rapid modernization of fashionable dress that occurred in the first two decades of the century.”
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Heather (Vaughan) Lee is an author and historian, whose work focuses on the study of dress in the late 19th through the 20th century. Covering a range of topics and perspectives in dress history, she is primarily known for her research on designer Natacha Rambova, American fashion history, and the history of knitting in America. More on Heather’s career can be found here.
Founded in 2011, Fashion Historia explores the history of fashion (and related events and exhibitions) with a focus on California and the West Coast. It includes book reviews, historical research, theoretical discussion and invites feedback from other scholars in the field. Contact Me Here.
