Books in Famous Fashion Designers series

The very name Coco Chanel inspires thoughts of fashion and beauty, perfume and style, and a look of timeless elegance. But the woman behind the name, Gabrielle Chanel, survived a childhood that was anything but stylish and elegant. The daughter of an itinerant merchant whose mother died while she was still young, Chanel lived a life she later denied, raised by nuns in an orphanage as a charity case. Yet somehow, Chanel survived to become the queen of 20th-century fashion, a designer who didn't draw yet became the most influential designer of her time and beyond. This biography examines the life of Coco Chanel, her fashions, and her loves, showing how the French country girl became a fashion icon.

Isaac Mizrahi is a tireless and creative force in the fashion and entertainment industries. Fashion designer, talk show host, and creator of a popular Target line, Mizrahi has infused the world with his colorful, sporty glamour while also being a voice and face of fashion in virtually all media. He is the product of a loving family, a vibrant community, and a wonderful education, but his rise to fame in New York City was also fueled by raw talent and pure creativity in his chosen field. But his story is also one of perseverance and determination in the face of defeat. Mizrahi is a versatile visionary who believes in everything he does, from designing pink parkas to chatting with celebrities. In Isaac Mizrahi, readers will become acquainted with this exuberant designer, sharing in his career highs and lows, and learning how he has embedded himself in the fabric of the fashion world.

Calvin Klein is more than the most famous American fashion designer of the 20th century he is the unchallenged leader of a global design empire. Today, his name can be found on literally hundreds of products, including menswear, womenswear, underwear, jeans, fragrances, eyeglasses, bed sheets, rugs, furniture, and much more. Klein has won every major fashion award, and his fashions are in the collections of both the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Yet for all his accomplishments, a debate rages within the fashion design industry: is Calvin Klein truly a great fashion designer or is he just a skilled self-promoter? Readers will explore this question along with all the other highs and lows of the career of this great American fashion designer in the highly illustrated new volume Calvin Klein.

Unlike most boys growing up, Valentino Garavani never wanted to be a fireman, a policeman, a forest ranger, or an airline pilot. Imbued with an aesthetic sense and love of beauty from an early age, the future Italian haute couture dress designer knew where his destiny lay in making women stunningly gorgeous by dressing them in the most refined, elegant, and exclusive garments imaginable. To achieve his dream, Valentino left Italy at the age of 17 for Paris, the capital of post-World War II high fashion. Ten years later, he was in business for himself, and nine years after that, he was designing wedding dresses for such high-profile individuals as Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Valentino was soon creating evening gowns for international socialites and Hollywood movie stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Julia Roberts, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, and many more. With lifelong personal and professional partner Giancarlo Giammetti, the House of Valentino went on to achieve stunning artistic and financial success. No one, it has been said, lived like Valentino, whose search for beauty led inexorably to la dolce vita, the "sweet life." Valentino covers the life of this fashion designer, from his upbringing in Italy to how he managed his successful career.