An Eye for Couture: A Collector's Exploration of 20th Century Fashion

In this stunning book, one of the world’s leading Asian art dealers reveals her passion project ― collecting French haute couturefrom the twentieth century and telling the stories of the women who wore them.

An Eye for Couture presents and explores Francesca Galloway’s collection of 20th-century haute couture and fashion, built over a period of thirty-five years. The book includes an outstanding group of over 100 pieces, concentrating of the work of couturiers who shaped fashion and whose pieces embodied the zeitgeist of their time. Among those featured in this book are Paul Poiret, Gabrielle Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Christian Dior and Paco Rabanne.

These garments and accessories come to life through the women who wore them. Denise Poiret ― Paul’s muse, collaborator and model ― is the subject of a specially commissioned essay. So is Princess Niloufer of Hyderabad, known as one of the most beautiful women in the world. She was photographed by Horst P. Horst for Vogue in 1939 and used her status to campaign for women’s rights. The book also looks at the 1960s as a period where designers such as Paco Rabanne and Yves Saint Laurent were shaping ideas of the future, as well as the influence of Eastern design on haute couture.

One of the world’s leading Asian Art dealers in Indian painting, courtly arts and Asian textiles, Francesca Galloway has curated many exhibitions and produced numerous publications on these subjects since the 1980s. With a curatorial perspective and an eye for design innovators and revolutionaries, an appreciation for the highest artistry and a sensibility for the influence of eastern design on haute couture, she has assembled a collection spanning more than one hundred pieces. The book’s striking imagery is the result of a collaboration between a fashion photographer, set designer and costume conservator/dresser. The images are positioned between haute couture and still life photography to bring these pieces of fashion history to life.

About the Authors:

Caroline Evans is Professor Emerita at Central Saint Martins.

Betül Basaran is Professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Mei Mei Rado is Assistant Professor at Bard Graduate Center.

Katrina Lawson Johnston is an independent art consultant with a special focus on textiles and 20th-century fashion.