From the delicate embroidery on ballgowns to the vibrant synthetic colors of crinolines, the major themes of 19th-century fashion are explored as never before in this exquisite book. Featuring specially commissioned color photographs of garments from the V&A’s superb collection and many close-up details, alongside accurate line drawings of each garment’s underlying structure, the book's 150…
Fashion Is . . . encourages readers to think about the myriad definitions of fashion. A Dior day suit. An Yves Saint Laurent minidress. A Japanese kimono. A Ferragamo shoe. A British court ensemble. A Schiaparelli hat. Fashion is glamour and attitude, texture and pattern, sexy and prim, luxurious and eccentric. It is above all a rich and evocative means of expression for both the designer and t…
Fifty years ago a girl disappeared from her home in Norway. She ran after a lamb and found herself travelling right across Europe to Palestine, and back through 2000 years to meet the Holy Family in Bethlehem. There she met angels, shepherds, wise men and other biblical characters who joined her on her pilgrimage; and she heard of many of the things that happened in the world in the last 2000 y…
Qais Akbar Omar was eleven when a brutal civil war engulfed Kabul. For Qais, it brought an abrupt end to a childhood filled with kites and cousins in his grandfather's garden: one of the most convulsive decades in Afghan history had begun. Ahead lay the rise of the Taliban, and, in 2001, the arrival of international forces. A Fort of Nine Towers is the story of Qais, his family and their determ…
from the back cover: You can drink it, and you can cook with it. You can even make buildings, dresses, and hats out of it. You can give it to somebody as a present, or you can buy it for yourself. And of course you can eat it. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolates with gold on the outside - everybody loves chocolate. Follow its story, from the forests of Central America h…