BELLAS ARTES

Chanel expert Isabelle Fiemeyer offers a rare, deeply personal look into the life of the iconic designer Coco Chanel. This biography draws from exclusive interviews with Chanel’s closest family members and extensive archival research to reveal the designer’s most private world—her love for symbolism and poetry, her romantic relationships, and her enduring bond with her nephew, André Palasse, whom she raised as her own son. His daughter, Gabrielle Palasse-Labrunie—Chanel’s goddaughter and only direct descendant—shares intimate memories and access to her great-aunt’s cherished collection of fashion, jewelry, and art. Divided into five chronological sections, the book immerses readers in Chanel’s life, unveiling rarely seen personal artifacts: gifts from her great love, Boy Capel, as well as her furniture, favorite jewelry, talismans, garments, family photos, and correspondence. This new text expands upon Fiemeyer’s research from her previous books on the designer and includes the compelling chapter “Alias Coco,” which explores newly uncovered documents from French Secret Service archives, shedding light on Chanel’s clandestine activities during World War II and her connections to the Resistance.

Christian Bérard worked freely in many artistic circles and fields as a painter, designer of theater and film sets and costumes, fashion designer, interior designer, masterful draftsman, and colorist. His iconic drawings epitomized the Paris fashion world and graced the covers of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Women’s Wear Daily in the 1920s and 1930s. Tracing his eccentric and colorful life of encounters and artistic partnerships with the greatest creatives of his time—Jean-Michel Frank, Christian Dior, Gabrielle Chanel, Jean Cocteau, Boris Kochno—this book includes more than two hundred of his paintings, drawings, photographs, intimate correspondences, and interior decorations, along with portraits of Bérard by Cartier-Bresson, Horst, and Schall.

The popular American fashion designer takes us on an exhilarating journey with today’s biggest stars wearing his statement-making designs on the world’s most exciting red carpets. This highly anticipated sequel to Dresses to Dream About (2017), delves into Siriano’s continued evolution as a visionary, from his groundbreaking fashion that celebrate diversity, inclusion, and body positivity to the meticulous craftsmanship behind each creation. This inspiring tome explores the intersection of fashion, art, and celebrity culture, offering a front-row seat to the dazzling spectacle of Siriano’s bold designs worn by glamorous actors, top models, pop culture legends, LGBTQIA+ icons, and first ladies.

The works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude are monuments of transience. Gigantic in scale, they are always temporary, created to exist only for a limited time and to leave unique, unrepeatable impressions. “From the smallest of the Packages made in Paris in the early 1960s, to the delicate pattern of hundreds of branches embraced by a translucent fabric veil... in Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s works there is nothing abstract, nothing imagined; it is all there―corporeal and tangible.” (Lorenza Giovanelli)