Cally Blackman – författare

The story of photography’s first practicable colour process is also the story of fashion as it evolved from the Edwardian era to the newfound fluidity and freedom of the 1920s. ‘Soon the world will be color-mad and Lumière will be responsible’ Alfred Stieglitz, 1907 These words announced the arrival of the autochrome, the colour process invented by the Lumière brothers that not only transformed photography, but also recorded the transition of fashion from Edwardian elegance towards a liberating modernity. The Colour of Clothes celebrates the unique beauty of the autochrome in around 370 images that reflect the broad sweep of its usage. Couturiers embraced the way the process showcased their exquisite designs to luminous perfection – among them Fortuny, Poiret, Doucet, Vionnet, Lucile, Chanel and Lanvin. Beyond the sphere of fashion, there are also examples from the Salon du Goût Français, France’s virtual autochrome exhibition of luxury items, and Albert Kahn’s Archives de la Planète, a bold attempt to record the world’s cultures in autochromes. Some of the photographers involved may be famous in their field – Lartigue, Stieglitz, Steichen – though very often they are lesser known, and many are women who took to the process with panache. Whoever they were, they helped to immortalize one of photography’s historic moments, when the camera first revealed the world of fashion as it was – in colour.

Celebrating the most famous and influential fashion school in the world, Fashion Central Saint Martins is filled with never-before-seen student work by and exclusive interviews with talented graduates who have gone on to become the biggest names in fashion. Discover a treasure trove of early sketches, first student collections and fashion shoots by designers such as Hussein Chalayan, John Galliano, Stephen Jones, Dior’s Kim Jones, Christopher Kane, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo, Gareth Pugh, and Burberry’s Riccardo Tisci, journalists like Vogue’s Hamish Bowles and stylists such as LOVE magazine’s Katie Grand. Learn all about their defining memories of the fashion school, favourite characters, inspirational teachers, and words of wisdom on everything a budding fashion designer, or aspiring fashion student, needs to know to forge their own path. Edited by the school’s Programme Director of Fashion, Hywel Davies, and Cally Blackman, lecturer in Fashion History and Theory, Fashion Central St Martins follows the school’s history from 1931 to today, with an initial chapter dedicated to its early years (1930s to 1960s), followed by chapters dedicated to each subsequent decade. Packed with profiles of key alumni alongside photography of their student work, and peppered with essays by guest-writers, this book will delight all fans and students of fashion.