Best Design Books

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty by Andrew Bolton

January 20, 2016

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty by Andrew Bolton – Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was an icon in the fashion industry. This book is a fine tribute to one of the best fashion designer and conceptual artist who died far too young but whose contributions to contemporary fashion and art will live on. This book is likely to become a collector’s item, so handsomely designed and present as it is. The artist was the most influential, imaginative, and provocative designer of his generation- The artist both challenged and expanded fashion conventions to express ideas about race, class, sexuality, religion, and the environment. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty examines the full breadth of the designer’s career, from the start of his fledgling label to the triumphs of his own world-renowned London house. It features his most iconic and radical designs, revealing how McQueen adapted and combined the fundamentals of Savile Row tailoring, the specialized techniques of haute couture, and technological innovation to achieve his distinctive aesthetic. It also focuses on the highly sophisticated narrative structures underpinning his collections and extravagant runway presentations, with their echoes of avant-garde installation and performance art. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty celebrates the astounding creativity and originality of a…

Book review: Liaigre 12 Projects

October 21, 2015

Christian Liaigre, a visionary interior designer, unveils twelve of his most recent projects from around the world in this exquisite large-format volume. Over the past twenty-five years, Christian Liaigre has built his reputation on the refined quality of his furniture and interiors. With a keen sensibility for space and light, design inspiration drawn from local cultures and traditions, meticulous attention given to the sourcing of materials, and an affinity for artisanal work, the designer combines the art of understatement with great elegance. According to Liaigre, interior architecture and design should not be a reflection of fashion and trends but rather embody timelessness, tranquil beauty, and subtle luxury. He believes that comfort does not lie in trivial affluence but in delicacy and rareness. See also: BOOK REVIEW: AMY BUTLER’S BLOSSOM Since his last book in 2008, he has been designing both private and public interiors around the world—from New York to Athens, from the island of St Barts to the mountains of St Moritz, and beyond. This new book takes the reader inside his rarefied world, highlighting his freshest creations and encompassing the full range of his talents in furniture and interior design, revealing his signature style. From Belgian beach retreats and…

BALLETS RUSSES BY ANDRÉ TUBEUF

September 6, 2013

The success of the Ballets Russes was legendary, but there is more to the legend than its name: the actual story, the adventure, conceived by one man and lived by a few, that lasted only eight seasons and three summers. From 1911 to 1914, Serge Diaghilev, driven by conviction and stubbornness, turned his vision into reality. He collaborated with the likes of Leon Bakst, Igor Stravinsky, and Picasso to create an explosion of creativity in Western Europe which had never before been seen in the world of art. Thanks to Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, the most glorious page in the history of ballet, one of the most magnificent moments in the adventure of Art, was written. To turn the pages of this stunning book, which offers rare documents from the legendary Ballets Russes from 1911 to 1914 (Monte Carlo years), is to follow Diaghilev on his creative quest—a journey that continues to influence art, theater, ballet, and fashion to this day. About the Author André Tubeuf taught philosophy for thirty-five years and served as musical adviser for two Ministers of Culture, Jacques Duhamel and Michel Guy, before he began writing. A collection of his most important works, l’Offrande Musicale, was published…