Quite simply the most fascinating record of a '[fashion] victim' one
could hope for. The Spectator
This captivating study reproduces arguably the most extraordinary
primary source documents in fashion history. Providing a revealing
window onto the Renaissance, it chronicles how style-conscious
accountant Matthäus Schwarz and his son Veit Konrad experienced life
through clothes, and climbed the social ladder through fastidious
management of self-image. These bourgeois dandies' agenda resonates as
powerfully today as it did in the 16th century: one has to dress to
impress, and dress to impress they did.
The Schwarzes recorded their sartorial triumphs as well as failures in
life in a series of portraits by illuminists over 60 years, which have
been comprehensively reproduced in full color for the first time. These
exquisite illustrations are accompanied by the Schwarzes'
fashion-focussed yet at times deeply personal captions, which render the
pair the world's first fashion bloggers and pioneers of everyday
portraiture.
The First Book of Fashion demonstrates how dress - seemingly both
ephemeral and trivial - is a potent tool in the right hands. Beyond
this, it colorfully recaptures the experience of Renaissance life and
reveals the importance of clothing to the aesthetics and everyday
culture of the period.
Historians Ulinka Rublack's and Maria Hayward's insightful commentaries
create an unparalleled portrait of 16th-century dress that is both
strikingly modern and thorough in its description of a true Renaissance
fashionista's wardrobe. This first English translation also includes a
bespoke pattern by TONY award-winning costume designer and dress
historian Jenny Tiramani, from which readers can recreate one of
Schwarz's most elaborate and politically significant outfits.
