Review
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'Vogue On Designers - a new, compact series of books, small
enough to carry in your handbag but still hardbacked - is
destined to take pride of place in many a carefully edited
library. The series stands out for the unique access all the
writers have had to the magazine's archive of photography and
illustrations. The Condé Nast library has offered up an
unprecedented quantity and quality of images, by everyone
from Cecil Beaton to Mario Testino and Tim Walker. Thanks to
Vogue having first charted the careers of these designers, their
lives and works within its pages, there was a vast a of
original material for the writers to draw on, making this a dream
project. Each of the four designers' stories comes back to life -
the images of their collections acting as prompts, reminding us
just how dramatic their impact has been on the way we dress. From
detailing how hard the designers worked to how they lived with
their visionary brilliance, the books made a captivating
assessment of their power and their legacy today. These aren't
vast coffee-table books to gather dust, but new fashion friends
to be read, perused and revisited for inspiration.' --VOGUE,
October 2012
'Four fabulous little books on four era-defining designers of the
20th century.' --The Mail on Sunday, 16th September 2012
'Oh, we do love an affordable snippet of style and the new Vogue
On series offers just that.' --Image Magazine, September 2012
'Like the girls modelling the exquisite clothes, the books are
slim, enchanting and beautifully proportioned. The text is brief
but informative, and laced with delicious quotes such as this
from Chanel: 'Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress
impeccably and they remember the woman.' --Mail on Sunday, 7th
October 2012
From the Inside Flap
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Hailed as 'the most influential female designer of the
twentieth century', Coco Chanel pioneered classic easy-to-wear
fashion for the modern woman. She arrived on the fashion scene
when feathers, lace and ostentatious beads were favourites, and
proceeded to re-invent couture using new materials, like jersey,
for outfits that were suitable for everyday wear yet still
elegant. With original illustrations and images from celebrated
photographers, such as Cecil Beaton, Bronwyn Cosgrave traces the
story of Coco Chanel's iconic designs and glamorous, racy life.
In 1921 Coco opened her Chanel boutique in Paris - still a
destination store today - and launched her first perfume, Chanel
No.5. Perhaps her most important contribution to the fashion
world was the simple, much-imitated 'little black dress' which
made its debut in 1926. Other landmark creations include the
Chanel suit and the quilted handbag. A testament to her lasting
influence, these legendary designs remain as popular today as
when they first appeared. Vogue, the international fashion bible,
has charted the careers of designers through the decades. Its
unique archive of photographs, taken by the leading photographers
of the day from Cecil Beaton to Mario Testino, and original
illustrations, together with its stable of highly respected
fashion writers, make Vogue the most authoritative and
prestigious source of reference on fashion. With a circulation of
over 160,000 and a readership of over 1,400,000, no brand is
better positioned to present a library on the great fashion
designers of the modern age.