I was so excited when Knitting: Fashion, Industry, Craft by Sandy Black arrived on my doorstep. Black is a well-known clothing and textiles scholar from the London College of Fashion (who also founded the journal Fashion Practice). Sandy Black’s work in this book is not only fascinating, but satisfying to someone (me) who’s been looking for a comprehensive history of knitting. In four well-illustrated chapters Black covers the history of knitting:
Red toe socks, 4th-5th century, found at Oxyrynchus (now El-Bahnasa), Egypt. "This pair of ankle length socks in red wool is in good condition with only one hole in the sole. The sock is worked seamlessly in single needle knitting..." (10)
1. History, Tradition and Mythology: from the Third Century to the Late Nineteenth Century
2. Livelihood and Industry: Hand- and Machine-knitting from the Seventeenth to the Twenty-First Centuries
3. Knitting in the Home: from the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day
4. Classics to Couture: Fashion Knitwear from 1900 to Now.
Knitting: Fashion, Industry, Craftis full of historical eye-candy for those looking for inspiration, but also includes plenty of the hard facts that historians crave. I was particularly drawn to the “Knitting in the Home” chapter (since that’s what I often do and write about). It includes a section on the evolution of the knitting pattern that begins:
With the development of printing and the rise of literacy, the popular market for needlework and knitting had grown considerably by the end of the nineteenth century. To reach this audience at more accessible prices than the drawing-room manuals, there emerged several series of low-priced monthly journals. Significant among these were the Family Friend (1849-66 and 1870-1921) and Weldon’s Practical needlework series (1886-1929), including Practical Crochet and Practical Knitter. . . . Knitting instructions also evolved. Gradually, more attention was paid to teaching the basic knitting skills in printed form, and reference began to be made to the notion of knitting tension and needle gauge. instead of continuous prose, instructions were separated into lines. Despite Mrs. Gaugain’s pioneering efforts, the standard knitting abbreviations now in common use were first established by Weledon’s in 1906.”
Bonnett. 19th Century, Britain. The back of this intricate textural bonnet forms an unusual six-pointed figure made up of obrdered leaves on an openwork mesh ground. (V &A)
Granted – the vast majority of in-text examples and photographs in Knitting: Fashion, Industry, Craft relate more specifically to knitting in the UK, and many of the objects shown are held in the collections of the V & A. Of course, that isn’t all that surprising, given that this is a V & A book.
That said, major American companies – like Oregon-based Jantzen – are mentioned. Smaller American companies, like Jack Frost, are not. American knitwear is occasionally mentioned in a number of places, like the sportswear section. World history of knitting is included (Europe, Americas, Asia), as are technological developments and knitwear trends in high fashion through history.
Knitting: Fashion, Industry, Craft includes a diverse number of viewpoints, and perspectives on knitwear throughout history: and also includes knitted dresses by designers like Jean paul Gaultier and Julien Macdonald; as well as World War II knitting; intricate lacewear; Victorian beaded bags; and socks from all eras.
It seems a thorough examination, and I can’t wait to dive into it more deeply.
Edited by Stefano Tonchi, W: The First 40 Years* is an oversize tribute to the magazine’s history of documenting the fashion world.
Organized into three main chapters, “Who,” “Where,” and “Wow, ” It packs in as many photographs as is possible-sometimes as many as eight images to a page. The design of the book includes a few neat bells and whistles, including a inserts at the front of each chapter: a fold-out insert of every magazine cover reproduced in a very small thumbnail, an insert on W gossips and a third on parties.
The “Who” chapter contains photo-essays of the best-known celebrities of fashion from the last 40 years beginning with multipage spreads of Jackie O, and Madonna. As the chapter continues the categories and individuals seem more arbitrary: Society Queens, Big Spenders, The Art Crowd, The Artists, Covergirls, Summercampers. Basically, this chapter covers designers, models, and trend setters (like Diana Vreeland and Anna Wintour): Sometimes with multi-page spreads, and sometimes sharing page-space with other groups/individuals.
These do no appear to be organized in any particular order, which I found problematic. That said, don’t miss the three pages devoted sole-ly to a half-naked Brad Pitt or the single image of a pre-fame Lady Gaga circa 2007, when W interviewed her during her ‘starving-artist’ phase.
The “Where” is of less interest to me, as it highlights the fashionable vacations, travels, and locations featured in W. But the “Wow” has some of the real meat. This is where some of W’s most groundbreaking, provocative and controversial fashion photography is featured (including the famous shoot of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, on a publicity tour for The Smiths, are shot ‘family style’ – just as their relationship was starting). Photographers included are Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Steven Klein, Steven Meisel, Bruce Weber, Mario Testino, Tim Walkter, Nick Night, Juergen Teller and more.
Despite my qualms with the organization and layout – this is recent fashion photography history at it’s best, and fills in some of the gaps left after Nancy Hall Duncan published History of Fashion Photography in 1979.
*I realize my images in this post aren’t great. For better quality images, check out Amazon’s “look inside” feature.
For thirteen years, Anne Deniau was the only photographer allowed full and complete access to the backstage antics of Alexander McQueen’s haute couture shows. She has just published a HUGE book documenting twenty-six of couture collections – from 1997 to 2010, Love Looks Not with the Eyes: Thirteen Years with Lee Alexander McQueen.
Portrait of Lee Alexander McQueen from Deniu's introduction
Now iconic dresses are shown moments before hitting the runway’s for the first time – including those in McQueen’s last show, presented shortly after his tragic suicide. This book is a unbelievably gorgeous tribute to his genius: a documentation of his work, his process, and his ephemeral and theatrical fashion shows.
McQueen and Shalom Harlow for "#13" (September 1998, London), before she was spray-painted by robots onstage.
Including 400 color and black-and-white photographs in large format (10 X 13) in seeming high-definition, Love Looks Not with the Eyes presents his growth and development as a designer. It includes portraits of McQueen (formal and informal), as well as an introduction by the photographer, with quotes and comments from Sarah Burton, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss, Philip Treacy and others.
Before Bjork famously wore this dress it was presented by McQueen in "Voss", Semptember 2000 in London.
The photographs themselves vary from intense “High Fashion” photographs, to commercial looking images, to more personal moments almost accidentally captured on film. It’s a remarkable way to see McQueen’s clothes – details, full shots, back shots. Things one doesn’t normally see in the fashion press. It’s a hugely helpful resource to anyone doing research on McQueen. With Love Looks Not with the Eyes, you can easily fall in love with McQueen all over again or for the first time.*
The cuddle shell dress, by McQueen as captured by Deniau for "Voss" in 2000 (London)
For more on McQueen see my post from 2010 at Worn Through.
Amy de la Haye, better-known to many fashion-scholars as the co-author of, Fashion Since 1900, and Professor of Dress History and Curatorship at the London College of Fashion has just published this A to Z of Style book with Abrams. De la Haye calls this a “quotationary” and it includes A to Z listings of quotes from famous designers, stylists, historical publications as well as the fashionable elite on specific topics from as far back as 1850.
When I first saw this short, gift-book-style publication, I was concerned that de la Haye was abandoning her academic roots, but after reading her introduction and a few of the entries, my fears subsided. Her work remains academic, but also entertaining.
"A" page layout (via Emma Farrorons blog - click for more)
A to Z of Style is a both fun and useful reference for casual readers and researchers alike. In many ways, it functions as a mini-encyclopedia. Entries are often accompanied by contextual notes explaining a vestigial garment no longer in use for context and better understanding. Longer entries provide a greater understanding of a person or era. An example entry:
PERFUME: “To find the name of a perfume is a very difficult problem because every word in the dictionary seems to be registered. The colour flashed in front of my eyes. Bright, impossible, impudent, becoming, life-giving, like all the light and birds and the fish in the world put together, a colour of China and Peru but not of the West – a shocking colour pure and undiluted. So I called the perfume ‘Shocking.'” (pg 94).
While most historians find line-illustrations to be problematic for documentation purposes (they usually impart the stylistic references of the current era onto historical objects), the illustrations provided here by Emma Farrarons are of specific objects in the collection of the V & A. A complete list of the objects depicted, with accession numbers is included at the back of the book.
A to Z of Style offers a creative and entertaining way to learn the history of fashion, without loosing the academic rigor we expect from the V & A and Amy de la Haye.
This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the de Sassiet Museum at Santa Clara University for a Costume Society of America Western Region program, led by Elise Rousseau, on the collection of liturgical vestments of the California Mission era.
The skill and craftsmanship displayed within these examples are a beautiful sight to behold – regardless of any personal religious affiliations. They included delicate metallic embroidery, stump-work, lace, and other high quality hand-work. The textiles themselves included rich brocades, chenille pile velvets, taffeta’s, and other delicate objects of finery (all VERY old, especially for California). The de Saisset Museum houses one of the most important collections of ecclesiastical garments and liturgical accessories dating from the founding of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs in 1777 through the 1920s. This collection had been hidden behind a false wall for years, unknown to the collections staff until a recent 2005 renovation revealed it.
Mission-Era Vestments from the Permanent Collection (on view to December 2) presents only a small portion of what may very well be the largest known collection of California Mission Vestments. Groups of 17th and 18th century copes, dalmatics, chasubles and accessories demonstrate a range of styles and purposes, as well as fabric and production origins.
The composition and use of these textiles offered a glimpse into the history and role of the global silk trade with far east Asia on the Spanish Galleons during the height of the Spanish Empire, Colonial Nueva España, and into the Franciscan Missions in California.
Costume design by Connie Strayer for Sunken Cathedral, choreographed by Mark Foeringer for Mark Foeringer Dance Project
From the heavy and concealing costumes for dance in the time of Louis XIV to the more revealing body hugging costumes of today, design for dance has evolved alongside fashion, but has been molded by individuals in the field with vision and/or purpose. They are artists, choreographers, directors, and the dancers themselves. Political upheavals, literature and art movements, as well as technical advancements have made their mark on the visuals of dance. These major events coupled with unique individuals have brought us to a bounty of visual riches in dance today. In this lecture we will take a whirlwind tour into the origins of dance design up to the current day, and beyond.
Connie Strayer is a Costume Designer and Senior Lecturer in Design in the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at Stanford University.
This event will be held at the de Young, Koret Auditorium, de Young Museum, San Francisco:
A Chenille and Lurex dress Fassett knitted with actual pearls, in front of one of his needlepoint tapestries. (1970s)
The new book, Dreaming in Colour, an autobiography by Kaffee Fassett, presents the story of this well-known, eclectic textile designer. Born in Big Sur, California, Fassett designed knitwear for Bill Gibb, the Missonis, and private clients (including Lauren Bacall and Barbara Streisand).
Though he trained briefly as a painter, his creative outlets have also included a wide-range of other textile arts, including needlepoint, rug-making, tapestries, costume design, yarn and fabric design, as well as quilting. He was also the subject of a rare, one-man retrospective show of his textile work at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1988. Though one can’t exactly call him a California designer (he’s lived in England most of his adult life), it’s clear his work was often inspired by California.
Kaffee Fassett in front of the Jars Tapestry, with a couple of his knits from the 1980s (Chapter opener for "The Glorious Eighties", pg 130)
Dreaming in Colour is a full of brightly colored photographs and illustrations of not only Fassett’s textile work, and illustrations, but also historical photographs. The chapters are laid out historically, and begin with a discussion of his “Childhood in California (1937-1956)”. They continue on to discuss “England in the Swinging Sixties” and “The Glorious Eighties,” among others: often focusing on the dress and textile history of those periods.
One interesting aspect of the book is how the photo-collages in each chapter show his development as a designer. Family photographs and artwork by other family members are juxtaposed by representations of his own work – showing a direct line of influence (such as a painting by his sister Holly of the Big Sur coastline shown alongside a handwoven fabric of the 1990s inspired by the colors of the ocean at Big Sur).
Those looking for previously unpublished information on Fassett’s design inspiration, history and art are sure to find their answers in Dreaming in Colour. It’s also a marvelous book for those in need of inspiration for their own art and craft endeavors.
Camp chairs Fassett covered with needlepoint florals, he called them "Gibson Girls" (1985-87)The Hollyhock Tapestry, commission for the Stamford Shakespeare Company (9 X 6 feet), a more recent project.Bordered Diamonds from "Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts" (2010) by Kaffe Fassett
“A pair of shoes must be perfect like an equation, and adjusted to the millimeter like a motor piece.” –Andre Perugia[i]
Andre Perugia T-Strap Sandals, 1922, Kid leather, mesh, sueded leather; embroidery (LACMA)(Click for source)
Andre Perugia (1893-1977) was the first major shoe designer of the twentieth century. The son of an Italian shoemaker living in Nice, France, he was trained in his fathers shop from early age.[ii]
As a teenager, Perugia took some shoe models to the Hotel Negresco, a famous hotel on the waterfront, where the Manager’s wife displayed them in the windows of the foyer.[iii] Through her connections, the most popular couturier of the day, Paul Poiret, became aware of Andre Perugia and invited him to Paris.[iv] From 1920 on, Perugia’s notoriety increased as he continued to design shoes for Poiret and for other large fashion houses.[v]
1925 | André Perugia | shot before the auction sale of Miss Denise Poiret wardrobe in 2005 (Click for source)
Although Perugia’s designs generally followed the styles of the 1920s, and frequently featured the t-strap, he also created highly extravagant and fantastical shoes.[vi] His shoes were unusually shaped and often decorated with geometric patters, and highly crafted and worked leather.[vii] His pumps and sandals were frequently made of luxurious materials such as “Jewel-toned snakeskin, purple suede, gold kid and pearlized lizard.” [viii]
"Le Bal," 1925, Andre Perugia for Paul Poiret, silk, glass, leather (Met, Costume Institute)
Historian Mary Trasko notes that “One inventive design from the late twenties [was] topped with dice and sport[ed] heels resembling dominoes suggested his beginnings in Nice, where the casinos were a popular pastime.”[ix] Rumor had it that he spoke to his shoes, giving him the reputation of being an eccentric genius.[x] The most famous of his clients in the 1920s included Hollywood movie stars such as Pola Negri[xi] and stars of the Folies Bergere in Paris.[xii]
In the 1930s, Perugia would be influenced and inspired by the cubist and surrealism art movements. He was heavily influenced by surrealism and cubism in the 1930s. At this time, Perugia, who worked in the same building as surrealist fashion designer, Elsa Schiaparelli began designing shoes to accompany her collection.[xiii] As author Janice West explains, “Surrealism’s relationship with the body—particularly the female body—and the unconscious meant that the shoe was the perfect object of fantasy.”[xiv]
André Perugia for Elsa Schiaparelli, Summer 1938, Suede & monkey fur (Click for source)
In 1937, Schiaparelli had worked with the king of surrealism, Salvador Dali, to design a hat in the shape of a high heel. This hat was based on a shoe that Perugia had previously designed for Schiaparelli’s collection.[xv] Perugia’s other designs for Schiaparelli included bizarre concoctions of leopard or monkey fur that made the shoes look as if they were wearing wigs. [xvi] He also designed banded boots, and stretch shoes that eliminated the need for buckles or buttons.[xvii]
The heyday of his career spanned the twenties, thirties and forties, but he continued to work into the 1960s. [xviii] After the Second World War he became less popular, but between 1962 and 1965 a partnership with Charles Jourdan enlivened his career. [xix] After this, he retired and bequeathed his entire collection to Jourdan. [xx]
[xiv] West, Janice. “The Shoe in Art, the Shoe as Art,” Footnotes: On Shoes. Shari Benstock and Suzanne Ferriss (eds)., New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2001. 42
Jean L. Druesedow, director of the Kent State University Museum and former curator at the Costume Institute, has provided a marvelous essay in Katherine Hepburn: Rebel Chic, the new marvelously illustrated book out on the film-stars on and off-screen style.
Jean L. Druesedow, curator of "Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen."
Druesdow’s essay, “Working Relationships: Costume Design and Katherine Hepburn,” is an in-depth look at the collection of garments worn by Hepburn, but also examines her interactions with designers such as Walter Plunkett, Howard Greer, Muriel King; Valentina; Cecil Beaton; and of course, Adrian. It also documents many of the too-often-ignored Broadway designers she worked with throughout her life. However, the essay begins by highlighting how these physical garments came to be ‘saved’:
Katherine Hepburn in "Without Love" (on Broadway), 1942. Costume Design by Valentina
Her personal letters and papers reveal that many of the costume designers and wardrobe attendants who worked with her held her in high regard. . . . Upstairs in Hepburn’s New York City home there was a closet reserved for this collection of costumes she had worn on stage and screen. The contents of the closet were separated from the other wardrobe, and when the town house was closed, these special garments were carefully inventoried, packed, and placed in a Connecticut warehouse. The collection spans nearly the entirety of her career with six stage productions and twenty-one films represented, as well as garments worn for publicity photographs. (The collection in accordance with her wishes was given by her estate executors to an educational institution, and now is housed at the Kent State University Museum in Kent , Ohio).” (88-89)
The book not includes wonderful research and background information for the film costume history enthusiast, but also includes film stills and photographs of extant garments, costume design sketches and notes, and other historical ephemera.
