**The first complete monograph on Olivier Theyskens surveys his
twenty-year career and documents the highly anticipated return of his
eponymous label.
**
Olivier Theyskens's refined sensibilities earned him international
acclaim as the dark prince of late 1990s couture. From his first
saturnine collections, to his new vision for Rochas, to his patterns and
textiles at Nina Ricci, to his years designing for Theyskens' Theory,
the designer has proved himself a master of couture, semi-couture, and
prêt-à-porter. Celebrated for his fine tailoring, romantic silhouettes,
and gothic palette, Theyskens transforms each house he helms. This
distinctive volume charts the twenty-year development of an
extraordinary aesthetic vision, rendered across countries, cultures, and
the shifting sands of the fashion landscape.
Newly commissioned texts connect the threads of the Belgian-born
artist's diverse practice. Drawings created for the publication
accompany photography from each period of his career. At both Rochas and
Nina Ricci, the designer crafted ethereal garments with unorthodox
silhouettes, mixing sheer fabrics and old-world bustles with subtly
subversive punk elements. Theyskens then broke ground in 2011 with his
trailblazing partnership, Theyskens' Theory. With a special focus on the
designer's return to the runway at the head of his own line, this is the
definitive work on a fashion visionary who, like the girls he designs
for, changes form, but walks in beauty wherever he goes.
