A dazzling examination of the two designers behind the most iconic and glamorous fashions of the 1970s This fascinating publication is the first to examine side by side the careers and work of two of the biggest names in 20th-century fashion, Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) and Halston (1932-1990). Their designs--chic, sexy, and glamorous--came to exemplify the 1970s, a singular and dynamic era in fashion history. Inspired by menswear, foreign cultures, and wide-ranging historical periods, and employing new fabrics, YSL and Halston together crafted a new and distinctly modern way of dressing. Moreover, although their output differed and they were based on different continents, the two designers shared many career parallels. A visual timeline of the designers' lives illustrates how their rises and falls, from the 1950s to their respective struggles in the 1980s, were surprisingly in sync. Engaging passages by Patricia Mears and Emma McClendon discuss the social, cultural, and economic factors that influenced both designers, and their subsequent impact on fashion--including the rise of the star designer as personality, the cult of celebrity, and the creation of the fashion conglomerate. The authors also address the importance of color, cutting-edge materials, innovative construction techniques, accessories, and perfume to both designers' aesthetics. Remarkable photographs of the designers and their garments round out this essential volume on two figures who made an indelible mark on fashion history. Published in association with the Fashion Institute of Technology Exhibition Schedule: The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York (02/05/15-04/18/15)

On November 28, 1973, the world's social elite gathered at the Palace of Versailles for an international fashion show. By the time the curtain came down on the evening's spectacle, history had been made and the industry had been forever transformed. This is that story. Conceived as a fund-raiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV's palace, in the late fall of 1973, five top American designers faced off against five top French designers in an over-the-top runway extravaganza. An audience filled with celebrities and international jet-setters, including Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, and Andy Warhol, were treated to an opulent performance featuring Liza Minnelli, Josephine Baker, and Rudolph Nureyev. What they saw would forever alter the history of fashion. The Americans at the Battle of Versailles– Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows – showed their work 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. Plagued by in-fighting, outsized egos, shoestring budgets, and innumerable technical difficulties, the American contingent had little chance of meeting the European's exquisite and refined standards. But against all odds, the American energy and the domination by the fearless models (ten of whom, in a groundbreaking move, were African American) sent the audience reeling. By the end of the evening, the Americans had officially taken their place on the world's stage, prompting a major shift in the way race, gender, sexuality, and economics would be treated in fashion for decades to come. As the curtain came down on The Battle of Versailles, American fashion was born; no longer would the world look to Europe to determine the stylistic trends of the day, from here forward, American sensibility and taste would command the world's attention. Pulitzer-Prize winning fashion journalist Robin Givhan offers a lively and meticulously well-researched account of this unique event. The Battle of Versailles is a sharp, engaging cultural history; this intimate examination of a single moment shows us how the world of fashion as we know it came to be.

As the creator of Jackie Kennedy's signature pillbox hat and the designer of choice for Liza Minelli in the 1970s, Halston (1932-90) was synonymous with American style: a modern, minimal yet glamorous look that encompassed everything from flowing caftans to ultrasuede dresses, to uniforms that lent panache to airline attendants and the girl scouts of America alike. Beginning his career in Chicago in the late 1950s, by 1972 Halston had been named 'the premier fashion designer of all America' by Newsweek and was firmly established in New York; he counted such personalities as Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger among his friends and clients. Tall, charismatic, impeccably dressed, Halston personified the lofty ambitions and non-stop nightlife of the 1970s and early 80s. This book, a visual anthology of Halston's life and legacy, includes previously unpublished catwalk photographs, rare archival photographs by Warhol, behind-the-scenes images of fashion shows and parties, one-off sketches and specially commissioned photographs of the collections. Halston embodies a magnificent tour de force of a life and career that are as monumental historically as they are fascinating, even to the less familiar reader.

Originally born in Algeria, Yves Saint Laurent moved to Paris when he was 18, and only three years later he was handpicked by Christian Dior to take the reins as designer of his fashion house. Over time, Saint Laurent resurrected haute couture from the casual mores that predominated in the 1960s, but also offered chic cachet to ready-to-wear clothing. He was among the earliest of designers to incorporate non-European references into his work, and in 1983 he became the first living designer to be feted with a solo exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Vogue on Yves Saint Laurent is a stellar volume in the series from the editors of British Vogue, featuring 20,000 words of original biography and history and studded with more than 80 images from their unique archive of images taken by leading photographers.

The 1960s saw a revolution in fashion that was born, like most things new and hip in that era, of youth rebellion in the streets. For the first time, designers didn't dictate the trends. Instead, the latest looks trickled up into the top fashion houses (Halston and Yves Saint Laurent among them), by way of bohemian boutiques and avant-garde labels with names like Granny Takes a Trip and Cosmic Couture, and musicians like the Beatles, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. Defying easy definition but becoming an international phenomenon all the same, hippie fashion twisted and turned from trippy to retro and crafty to ethnic. The accompanying idea that one can express a personal style with clothing went against everything about the previous generation's notion of matching suits or ladylike ensembles dictated by social class or profession. Sumptuous photography, dynamic design, and far-out images from the era make Hippie Chic a must-have book that goes past peace signs and patchouli to unearth how hippies forever changed the way fashion functions.

The first published collection of the work of Joe Eula, one of the twentieth century's greatest fashion illustrators With text by fashion journalist Cathy Horyn, Joe Eula: Master of Twentieth-Century Fashion Illustration brings together a selection of more than 200 gorgeous black-and-white and full-color sketches and finished illustrations from prolific graphic designer and illustrator Joe Eula, whose career spanned more than fifty years. This landmark volume sheds light on Eula's development as an artist and his contributions to the worlds of fashion, design, and arts and entertainment—through numerous interviews, anecdotes, and Horyn's personal reminiscences of their friendship—while placing his work within the critical context of those fields as they evolved from the early 1950s until his death in 2004. This extraordinary collection presents runway and showroom sketches as well as advertising work for Chanel, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Dior, Geoffrey Beene, Bill Blass, Rudi Gernreich, and Charles James, as well as for Halston, for whom Eula was the creative director during the 1970s, the era of the designer's greatest influence. There are album covers, portraits, and show posters for Miles Davis, Lena Horne, Marlene Dietrich, Eartha Kitt, Liza Minnelli, Shirley MacLaine, and the Supremes, as well as costume designs for Jerome Robbins's ballets. Also included are sketches of Diana Vreeland, Helena Rubinstein, Coco Chanel, Andy Warhol, Twiggy, Elsa Peretti, and Halston, and work for Studio 54, Regine's, and Elaine's. Eula was the very essence of a maverick American spirit. All his life he did what pleased him, guided by his incredible eye, fluent ideas, and spare drawings. This book captures the essence of the acute visual clarity, creativity, decisiveness, and great personal energy that fused so brilliantly in his quick, sure hand. With more than 200 full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations

On January 21, 1971, couturier Yves Saint Laurent presented his Spring-Summer haute couture collection. Inspired by the garments of the war years, the collection included short dresses, platform shoes, square shoulders, and exaggerated makeup. The show caused an outrage among the public, the critics, and the press alike, earning it the title of "Paris's ugliest collection." Nevertheless, the haute couture designs of the runway made their way to the boulevards, giving full sway to the "retro" trend that quickly conquered the streets. Yves Saint Laurent: The Scandal Collection, 1971 offers a behind-the-scenes look at the influential collection that drew fire in the fashion world from the collection's inspiration to the press coverage that followed. Beautifully illustrated and documented with well-researched essays, this book is enriched with personal interviews and archival photographs of the show, the models, the designs, and the textile and print samples, as well as sketches and international press clippings. Olivier Saillard is the director of the Palais Galliera, Museum of Fashion, and the curator of the Yves Saint Laurent 1971: The Scandal Collection exhibition. Dominique Veillon is an historian.