The Impossible Collection of Fashion | Assouline

In this limited edition, Ultimate Collection format linen clamshell and handmade oversized book, Valerie Steele flexes her curatorial muscle by showcasing the most iconic dresses of the twentieth century. From Poiret to Pucci, Doucet to Dior, Vionnet to Valentino, Steele selects one hundred dresses that caused a stir either on the runway or entering a room and ultimately inspired new directions in fashion. Steele’s selections include Paul Poiret’s figure-liberating 1907 gown, Madame Grès’s sublimely draped goddess creation from 1938, Jean Paul Gaultier’s shockingly exaggerated cone-bust corset dress circa 1984, and Hussein Chalayan’s awe-inspiring remote-control fiberglass Airplane dress from 2000. The compilation, while certainly subjective, is sure to receive nods of recognition along with a gasp or two of surprise. Complimentary white gloves and signature canvas tote bag are included with each purchase from Assouline’s Ultimate Collection Valerie Steele (PhD, Yale University) is director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (MFIT). Having curated more than twenty exhibitions in the past ten years, Dr. Steele also serves as editor in chief of Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, which she founded in 1997. She has appeared on many television shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Undressed. The Washington Post describes her as one of “fashion’s brainiest women,” and she was included in the New York Daily News list of “Fashion’s 50 Most Powerful.”