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9781849496704

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The great couturiers of yore-Fortuny, Chanel, Lanvin, Vionnet, and Balenciaga, to name a few-are best known for their groundbreaking dress designs. Many of these designs still exist in the rarefied world of vintage couture. Banks-Blaney is an expert in this milieu, and the owner of a London store that houses some of these treasures. This book is a celebration of the 25 dresses that the author considers the most important ever made, as well as those contemporary designers most stylistically influenced by them. The photographs are breathtaking, with the frocks elegantly modeled by celebrities and mannequins. Each chapter covers both the garment and its designer, which for the most part works as an organizing principle until some designers are revisited later in their careers. The two chapters on Yves Saint Laurent, for example, are redundant. Still, Banks-Blaney's knowledge and enthusiasm are contagious, and anyone with an appreciation for couture will relish the sight of Chanel's Ribbon Dress from 1924, a black silk georgette confection that sways rather than floats... and has within it an intense body-skimming eroticism and sense of imminent reveal. Color photos. (Oct.) - Publishers Weekly

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WILLIAM BANKS-BLANEY founded WilliamVintage in 2009, as he felt there was a gap in the market for an edited, exacting source of the world's best vintage clothing and haute couture. Christened 'The Vintage King' by <em>Vogue</em>, William has become the voice of vintage within the fashion industry; he has been interviewed by CNBC, appeared in numerous episodes of <em>The Rachel Zoe Project</em> on Bravo, and has become the global Style Ambassador for American Express. Clients of WilliamVintage include designer Victoria Beckham, actresses Gillian Anderson, and Tilda Swinton, as well as singers Lana Del Rey and Rihanna.

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