History of International Fashion

Industry veteran Grumbach takes you through the history of fashion in this lavishly illustrated book, from its humble beginnings to today's superstar designers. As he explains, the first designers were low-ranking dressmakers, who, until the 17th century, couldn't even cross over into private industry without becoming subjects to fines and virtual witch-hunts. The dawning of recognition for these artisans came in 1675 when King Louis XIV gave master dressmakers official status. Fashion fans will be happily caught up in Grumbach's history of the first designers to be officially known as such, including innovators like Charles Fredrick Worth, Charles Poynter Redfern, Jacques Doucet, and Paul Poiret. Dispersed within this narrative are fun tidbits, like how today's fashion shows started with one Lady Duff-Gordon, a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic who preferred to stage her showings at teatime. Grumbach moves on to the establishment of categories of style, such as ready to wear and haute couture, and to the decline and unlikely rise of the latter category, brought about by WWII. While the world was reeling from war and the Wall Street crash, he explains, haute couture flourished in occupied France thanks to negotiations with German authorities. Fascinating (and, as in the aforementioned instance, sometimes disturbing) as this all is, there are moments in this undeniably informative book when the story becomes overwhelmed by detail. Nonetheless, casual and passionate fashion aficionados alike should both enjoy seeing how the people and industry that determines what we wear has changed over time. 232 color and 158 b&w photos. (Aug.)