Like a piece of couture, a decadent book demands reverence. So it is with
Vogue & the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute: Parties, Exhibitions, People, with an ornate, glossy interior that's a work of art unto itself. The volume spans exhibitions from 2001's "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years" to 2014's "Charles James: Beyond Fashion," and the array of historical gowns, starlets and striking photographs are an argument that fashion is more than the sum of its parts: it's an art form, a cultural barometer and a touchstone of identity.
Hamish Bowles (editor-in-chief of
Vogue Living) follows the thread of a garment from its inception to its modern iteration: first a harem costume from 1911, then a gossamer 1920s gown and, finally, a photo of model Natalia Vodianova in flapper-inspired Dior in a 2007 issue of
Vogue. Running the gamut from oddity to conventional beauty, these designs are a feast of artful confections. --
Linnie Greene, freelance writer
