Cover image for The Battle of Versailles : the night American fashion stumbled into the spotlight and made history
The Battle of Versailles : the night American fashion stumbled into the spotlight and made history
Title:
The Battle of Versailles : the night American fashion stumbled into the spotlight and made history
Author:
ISBN:
9781250052902
Edition:
First edition.
Physical Description:
310 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
Contents:
In the wings -- French rules -- Copycats and salami -- Four gentlemen and a powerhouse -- Cities in flames -- Apostasy -- Disco balls and divas -- Stephen Burrows's world -- Insecurity and egos -- Muses, marijuana, and mayhem -- Waiting -- One night at Versailles -- Success stories and cautionary tales -- In our own way.
Summary:
"Conceived as a fundraiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV's palace, the world's elite gathered in Versailles' grand theater to view a fashion extravaganza of the best that French and American designers had to offer ... What they saw would forever alter the history of fashion. At the Battle of Versailles five Americans--Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows--faced off against the five French designers considered the best in the world--Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior. Against all odds, the American energy and the domination by their fearless models (ten of whom, in a ground-breaking move, were African-American) sent the audience reeling. By the end of the evening, the Americans had transformed their place on the world stage and sowed the seeds for changing the way race, gender, sexuality, and economics would be treated in fashion for decades to come"--
Holds: