Kings of Fashion
New York: Coward-McCann Inc, 1956. 1st US Edition. Octavo, publisher’s seafoam cloth, spine gilt, original illustrated dust jacket.
First US edition of Austrian fashion journalist Anny Latour’s survey of the male couturiers who shaped modern Parisian style. Originally published in Germany in 1956, Kings of Fashion traces the rise of haute couture through profiles of designers including Charles Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Jean Patou, and Christian Dior, situating their work within the social and economic transformations of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Published prior to the 1970s formation of "fashion studies," the book is cited as a period document that helped codify the canon of major European designers. Illustrated with black-and-white photos. Translated from the original German by Mervyn Savill. Dust jacket designed by Scottish artist William McLaren. Bookplate and pencil signature of 1960s-era WWD editor Ermina Stimson Goble to front endpapers, and occasional pencil notations to margins. Some embrowning to endpapers from newspaper clippings (not present); unclipped dust jacket with light sunning to spine and light edgewear. Very good. Item #12758
$100.00