Sonia Rykiel

Published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, this handsome volume presents fashions by noted designer Sonia Rykiel who celebrated her 40th anniversary in fashion in October 2008 and was famously anointed the fashion world's “Queen of knitwear” by Women's Wear Daily.

This sumptuous book is a celebration of the iconic designer's lifetime in fashion. Included are photographs from 80 seasonal collections spanning 40 years and interlaced with remarkable personal anecdotes and reminiscences alongside candid photos of the designer by acclaimed photographers Dominique Issermann and Sarah Moon. Also included are images from the official campaigns that originally appeared in such leading fashion publications as Vogure, Elle, Marie-Claire, and many others.

Though designing since 1962, Sonia Rykiel achieved instant acclaim when she founded her own label in 1968. She is celebrated for creating several transformative decorative features that transformed knitwear into fashion. These include inside-out stitching, no-hem and “unlined” pieces, bold stripes, lace, rhinestones and sweaters with written messages. She is also known for several signature looks including long clinging sweaters, small cropped pullovers, large rolled-back cuffs, and long shawls usually in a spectrum of key colors (beige, grey, dark blue and charcoal). These looks all reflected her philosophy of la démode, or “un-fashion” which abolished total-look diktats in favor of a wardrobe adapted to expressing a woman's individual personality

Sonia Rykiel celebrated 40 years in fashion in 2008 and remains one of the world’s pre-eminent designers.

Olivier Saillard is a fashion historian and curator at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Liz Goldwyn has worked in fashion, art, and photography since the age of sixteen. She has produced major fashion shows and art installations, helped establish the fashion department at Sotheby’s New York, and was a global consultant for Shiseido America. She writes feature articles for national magazines, and designs her own collection of jewelry. Her documentary film on burlesque queens, Pretty Things, premiered in July 2005 on HBO. Goldwyn lives in Los Angeles.

Gerard-Georges Lemaire, a writer, historian, and art critic, has organized more than 70 exhibitions in France and is the author of books on the Pre-Raphaelites, Futurism, and Franz Kafka, as well as many others.

Akiko Fukai is a curator at the Kyoto Costume Institute and has written numerous books on fashion.