Valerie Steele describes how Florence, Rome, and later Milan all became important fashion centers and how other Italian cities play specific roles within the country’s fashion system.

This lively survey of postwar fashion not only describes the great designers and their creations but also places trends in clothing within their social and cultural contexts.

One of the most exciting fashion designers in the United States, Cuban-born Isabel Toledo has been honored with a National Design Award from the Cooper- Hewitt Museum and a Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion,given by The Museum at FIT.

Scholars have long acknowledged the significance of the Japanese “fashion revolution” of the 1980s, when avant-garde designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons introduced a radically new conception of fashion.

Working quietly and without much public attention for more than 20 years, American fashion designer Ralph Rucci suddenly became a headline topic in 2002, when he was invited to show his collection at the haute couture in Paris.

Named one of the 2001 Best of the Year by the Globe & Mail of Toronto. The corset is probably the most controversial garment in the history of fashion.

The Red Dress

The Red Dress