Madeleine Vionnet - Tapa dura

"The book comprises 400 photographs, 38 original dress patterns and interviews with the designer herself. Colorful visuals showcase Vionnet's preference for Grecian-style dresses and the bias cut, the latter on display in one of her black silk, satin-backed crepe dresses, which she fitted with ripples at the hems and matched with a high neckline. Vionnet loved flow in dresses -- so did her famous clients like Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford -- and she was famously opposed to corsets. 'I have never been able to tolerate corsets myself, so why should I inflict them on other women, ' she has been quoted as saying." --New York Times T Style Blog

This breathtaking collection of Madeleine Vionnet's life and work has been the definitive volume on the legendary couturier for more than a decade. Now back in print with a fresh new cover, this reissue comes on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the House of Vionnet. Hailed as an `architect among dressmakers,' Madeleine Vionnet introduced the revolutionary bias cut and created free-flowing, modern gowns that earned her an enduring spot in fashion history. This book collects over 400 photographs, sketches, and complete patterns for 30 of her most influential designs, in a gorgeous hardcover volume.