Downton Abbey–era fashion is explored through the life and extensive wardrobe of real-life Edwardian London socialite Heather Firbank (1888–1954), whose treasures, bought from the world’s leading couturiers and the very best dressmakers and tailors in London, were gifted to the V&A after her death. The collection forms an invaluable record of a stylish and wealthy woman’s taste from about 1905 to 1920, and actually served as inspiration to Downton Abbey’s Emmy Award–winning costume designer, Susannah Buxton. Beautifully illustrated with new photography of Firbank’s evening gowns, tailored suits, and hats, the book also features contemporary photographs and pages from Firbank’s own fashion cuttings albums.

The Archive of Art and Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum contains Britain's foremost collection of primary source material relating to art and design, particularly of the twentieth century. Established in 1978, the Archive holds over 200 archives created by individual artists, craftspeople and designers and businesses and societies involved in the manufacture and promotion of art and design products. The Guide describes each archive in detail, offering information about its creator, its contents, and related sources held both inside and outside the V&A Museum. It is an invaluable reference text for everyone with an interest in studying British art and design.

The designs of eighteenth-century woven silk in England and France exemplified skills acquired over two millennia: in their range, quality and beauty, they have perhaps never been excelled. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, contains by far the most important and extensive collection of English silk designs in the world, some bound as they were originally, others loose, and still more as samples of fabric in pattern books. The designs changed with the season and, through these pages, we can see fashion evolving from the extravagances of the 'bizarre' silks of the early eighteenth century, through the 'lace' patterns and three-dimensional effects of the 1720s and 1730s, to the Rococo of the 1740s, the stylization of the 1750s and 1760s and, finally, to the Neo-Classicism of the 1770s and later. The diversity in motif and pattern is astonishing, and subtleties of texture contrast with colours as brilliant and fresh as they were two centuries ago.Here, in more than 250 magnificent colour illustrations, is a treasure house of inspiration for today's designers, a captivating record for students of costume and textiles, and a delight for anyone who loves things of beauty.

Cassiano dal Pozzo's print collection was unique in its scope and organisation. Some 3,000 prints are known, in nine albums and many loose impressions mainly divided between the British Library and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Cassiano (1588-1657) and his younger brother Carlo Antonio dal Pozzo (1606-89) did not commission printmakers to engrave plates (as they did drawings), buying instead what was available from the flourishing printmaking industry of the time. The material they collected was essentially documentary, and they organised the collection by subject matter: costumes, religious processions and ceremonies, tombs and catafalques, the history of St Peter's, architecture, topography, maps and military engagements, portraits, social and humorous subjects, and so on. This first part of the catalogue presents ceremonies, costumes, portrait and genre prints. A remarkable proportion of the prints are not to be found in the existing literature, and many constitute additions to the known works of major printmakers. Indeed Cassiano's collection has been described as 'so far outside the common range of print collectors both in the seventeenth century and today that a very h... [Read More]

Twelve sheets of 19.5 x 27.5 inch wrapping paper are folded into a paperback book, which has a notepad binding for a clean, easy-tear off.

In 1947, Christian Dior’s “New Look” was greeted with both shock and delight, making headlines around the world. Accompanying the exhibition opening at the Victoria and Albert Museum in September 2007, this lavish book focuses on Parisian and British couture between 1947 and 1957, the decade Dior hailed as fashion’s “golden age.” The “New Look” symbolized a new femininity. The full skirts and hourglass silhouettes were considered highly decadent, synonymous with luxury and prosperity, in marked contrast to the austerity of the WWII years. Nevertheless, the “New Look” caught the public imagination and ushered in a period of remarkable creativity. The Golden Age of Couture features stunning gowns and exquisite tailoring from Dior as well as from such designers as Balenciaga, Balmain, and Givenchy, along with evocative photographs by the likes of Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton. This beautifully designed book reveals the skill and craftsmanship of haute couture along with the inner workings of the exclusive design houses, and the inspiration behind some of the most famous styles of all time. EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:Victoria and Albert Museum, London, September 27–Jan... [Read More]

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