V&A Fashion Perspectives – serie

Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) was one of the leading fashion designers of the 1920s and 1930s with a flair for the unusual. The first to use shoulder pads, animal print and the inventor of shocking pink, Schiaparelli collaborated with artists including Jean Cocteau, Alberto Giacometti and Salvador Dali, to create extraordinary garments such as the Dali Lobster Dress.Schiaparelli had an affluent clientele, from Katherine Hepburn to Marlene Dietrich, who embraced her outrageous but elegant designs. She designed aviator Amy Johnson's wardrobe for her solo flight to Cape Town in 1936, the culottes for tennis champion Lily d'Alvarez that outraged the lawn tennis establishment, and her clothes appeared in more than 30 films including Every Day's a Holiday with Mae West and Moulin Rouge. Schiaparelli's fascinating autobiography charts her rise from resident of a rat-infested apartment to designer to the stars.

Barbara Hulanicki tells the story of the rise and fall of the tiny, energetic boutique that grew into a vast emporium and epitomised Swinging London. The Biba store was to become an icon of hip '60s and '70s London and a hangout for artists, film stars and rock musicians, including the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot and Marianne Faithful. But in the early 1970s, Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon lost control after a series of bitter boardroom struggles and for Barbara, Biba was lost. This lively autobiography evokes the adventurous spirit of the 1960s and describes an extraordinary life with clarity and wit.

Sir Norman Hartnell (1901-1979) was the star of London couture during the interwar years, gaining international fame as dressmaker to the British royal family. His autobiography, first published in 1955, tells the story of the creation of his couture house in 1923, his formal appointment as dressmaker to the royal family in 1935, and the most momentous commissions of his career: Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown in 1947 and her magnificent coronation dress six years later. Best known for romantic eveningwear shimmering with beads and embroidery, Hartnell is credited with reintroducing the crinoline to world fashion through his full-skirted designs for Queen Elizabeth. Silver and Gold describes an extraordinary life with elegance and panache.