CLAIRE WILCOX

This suptuous book, now available in a deluxe paperback edition, focuses on Parisian and British couture during the decade that Christian Dior described as fashion´s `golden age´. Stunning gowns and exquisite tailoring from designers such as Balenciaga, Hartnell, Amies, Balmain, Givenchy and Dior are accompanied by evocative photographs by the likes of Richar Avedon, Irving Penn and Cecil Beaton.

In her first book, Frankel presents a fashion-first look at the world, giving readers at least a decade of new material. This collection of her interviews with fashion designers, previously published in journals such as the Independent and Dazed & Confused, offers a closer, more penetrating look into some of the world''s most intriguing designers. Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and John-Paul Gaultier are some of the designers showcased, alongside images of their clothes. The reproductions of the work that originally ran with each piece are enticing eye candy, sweetening the illuminating and juicy revelations printed in the accompanying interviews. The interviews, which took place between 1997 and April 2001, seem to preserve each designer''s pre-glory moments in time while presenting other designers'' careers as the standard by which all success is measured. Although thorough in her coverage, Frankel does leave out prominent designers in America and Europe to include lesser-knowns from Britain. Radical Fashion offers a short list of designers who innovate on the avant-garde of design. Since the honor of inclusion is bestowed upon only the most eccentric of the London/Milan/Paris set, the book seems a bit more elitist than Visionaries, excluding progressive designers such as Galliano, Gianni Versace, and Viktor & Rolf. The text offers a more academic glimpse of fashion and its extreme, with articles centered on one main concept. For example, a discussion of haute couture leads to Azzedine Alaia and Gautier, whereas Helmut Lang''s vision is related to an essay about mixing art and fashion. The essays are extremely well researched as the authors, including Frankel, take on more complex concepts of design and also consider how fashion has altered in the face of modernity. The pictures included here are less glamorous and, on the whole, smaller, but they are useful reference points for the text. Both titles include notable quotes from each designer, highlighting their perspective on fashion. Radical Fashion is an excellent source for fashion theory, whereas Visionaries offers closer insight into the designers themselves. Rachel Collins, "Library Journal"

WINNER OF THE 2021 PEN ACKERLEY PRIZE A strange and mesmerising piece of work Sunday Times An absolute masterpiece Laura Cumming An uncommon delight Observer Claire Wilcox has been a curator of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum for most of her working life In Patch Work she turns her curator s eye to the fabric of life itself tugging at the threads of memory a cardigan worn by a child a tin button box the draping of a curtain a pair of cycling shorts a roll of lace a pin hidden in a seam Through these intimate and compelling close ups we see how the stories and the secrets of clothes measure out the passage of time our gains and losses and the way we use them to unravel and write our histories Effervescent poetic puzzle like Wilcox picks at the heartstrings Financial Times

Over 300 illustrations convey the dynamism and impact of her ideas from the early punk years to her more recent collections, presenting imaginative and stunning creations that have been a major influence on fashion, music and art since the 1970s. Outfits worn by the Sex Pistols contrast with more recent creations for Tracey Emin and Cameron Diaz, demonstrating why Westwood is the most talked-about designer in Britain. Her enormous cult following in Japan, Europe, Australia and the USA gives the book instant international appeal, while Claire Wilcox's authoritative text sheds light on the sources of inspiration and working practices of this fascinating and dedicated designer.

Fashion is a big bubble and sometimes I feel like popping it Alexander McQueen 2009This definitive publication on Alexander McQueen 1969 2010 invites you into the creative mind and world of one of Britain s most brilliant daring and provocative designers and the many themes and references that shaped his visionary fashion collections Accompanying the V&A s landmark exhibition Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty and taking the key themes of the exhibition of tailoring gothic primitivism naturalism and futurism this comprehensive catalogue features previously unseen material as well as groundbreaking essays and feature spreads by multiple authors and leading fashion commentators This kaleidoscopic approach explores themes central to the designer s work and his collections such as the psychology of fashion natural history the theatre and spectacle of his shows and the key creative collaborators during McQueen s lifetime Alexander McQueen also offers an encyclopaedic survey of McQueen s catwalk collections illustrated with striking images by leading fashion photographers and specially commissioned photographs that capture the breath taking skill of his designs and awesome theatricality of his shows Accompanies Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty 14