20th Century Theatre Costumes

Acclaimed artist Kenneth Goldsmith’s thousand-page beautiful homage to New York CityHere is a kaleidoscopic assemblage and poetic history of New York: an unparalleled and original homage to the city, composed entirely of quotations. Drawn from a huge array of sources—histories, memoirs, newspaper articles, novels, government documents, emails—and organized into interpretive categories that reveal the philosophical architecture of the city, Capital is the ne plus ultra of books on the ultim... [Read More]

Clothes define people. A person's clothing, whether it's a sari, kimono, or business suit, is an essential key to his or her culture, class, personality, or even religion. The Kyoto Costume Institute recognizes the importance of understanding clothing sociologically, historically, and artistically. Founded in 1978, the KCI holds one of the world's most extensive clothing collections and has curated many exhibitions worldwide. With an emphasis on Western women's clothing, the KCI has amassed a wi... [Read More]

In 1865, the Corbella Company, which proclaimed itself the “First Italian Manufacturer of Jewelry and Weapons for the Theatre,” was founded in the heart of Milan. From the very beginning of its long history, it specialized in the production of stage jewelry, weapons and accessories, taking the title of official supplier to Milan's Teatro alla Scala. Corbella Milano presents the history of the company―from the boom in industry in Milan after Italian unification through to the convulsions of... [Read More]

Harnessing the romance of the world of fashion and high art, this fascinating story of a collection of miniature mannequins describes the birth of Theatre de la Mode, the Theater of Fashion. Full of stars such as Robert Ricci (Nina Ricci's son), filmmaker Jean Cocteau, and other members of the 1944 haute couture industry, the story follows 237 miniature fashion dolls through their epic tour of Europe and North America, bringing fashion, elegance, and beauty into a war-torn world. Also included a... [Read More]

Costumer Barbara Karinska was one of countless emigrees flung westward from czarist Russia by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s. Costumes by Karinska chronicles the life and work of this remarkably talented woman, a consummate perfectionist who brought unprecedented quality, innovation, and beauty to costumes designed and executed for film, theater, opera, and dance.Working behind the scenes as one of Balanchine's closest and most important collaborators, Karinska made an enormous contribution to many... [Read More]

Traces the history of a collection of miniature mannequins created in postwar France

This is the first biography of Joseph Urban designer of furniture, stage, opera and film sets, also interiors, decorative objects and buildings. He was a household name in his time and his reputation is now set for a revival.

Shirley Miles O'Donnol provides both illustrations and written descriptions of styles worn in everyday life and suggests ways of adapting them to stage use. Her animated and informative text gives an overview of social trends as well as insight into the fashions themselves. Since women's fashions change more frequently and more radically than men's, the chapters follow the eras in women's apparel: "The First World War," "The Flaming Twenties," "The Depressed Thirties," "The Second World War," "T... [Read More]

This is the first book to explore the complex relationship among theater, fashion, and society in the late Victorian and early modern eras. Examining such diverse topics as the emergence of the society playhouse, fashion journalism, the role of the couturier-costumier, department store marketing, and the establishment of "dress codes" by militant suffragettes, Kaplan and Stowell provide a new context for assessing plays by established writers such as Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, Arthur Pinero, and... [Read More]

art book