What do you think?
Rate this book
The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History
A Washington Post Notable Book of 2015
"It was a big deal when American fashion went to Versailles. Who better than Robin Givhan to tell this captivating story?" - Diane von Furstenberg
On November 28, 1973, the world's social elite gathered at the Palace of Versailles for an international fashion show. By the time the curtain came down on the evening's spectacle, history had been made and the industry had been forever transformed. This is that story.
Conceived as a fund-raiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV's palace, in the late fall of 1973, five top American designers faced off against five top French designers in an over-the-top runway extravaganza. An audience filled with celebrities and international jet-setters, including Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, and Andy Warhol, were treated to an opulent performance featuring Liza Minnelli, Josephine Baker, and Rudolph Nureyev. What they saw would forever alter the history of fashion.
The Americans at the Battle of Versailles- Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows - showed their work against the five French designers considered the best in the world - Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior. Plagued by in-fighting, outsized egos, shoestring budgets, and innumerable technical difficulties, the American contingent had little chance of meeting the European's exquisite and refined standards. But against all odds, the American energy and the domination by the fearless models (ten of whom, in a groundbreaking move, were African American) sent the audience reeling. By the end of the evening, the Americans had officially taken their place on the world's stage, prompting a major shift in the way race, gender, sexuality, and economics would be treated in fashion for decades to come. As the curtain came down on The Battle of Versailles, American fashion was born; no longer would the world look to Europe to determine the stylistic trends of the day, from here forward, American sensibility and taste would command the world's attention.
Pulitzer-Prize winning fashion journalist Robin Givhan offers a lively and meticulously well-researched account of this unique event. The Battle of Versailles is a sharp, engaging cultural history; this intimate examination of a single moment shows us how the world of fashion as we know it came to be.
"It was a big deal when American fashion went to Versailles. Who better than Robin Givhan to tell this captivating story?" - Diane von Furstenberg
On November 28, 1973, the world's social elite gathered at the Palace of Versailles for an international fashion show. By the time the curtain came down on the evening's spectacle, history had been made and the industry had been forever transformed. This is that story.
Conceived as a fund-raiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV's palace, in the late fall of 1973, five top American designers faced off against five top French designers in an over-the-top runway extravaganza. An audience filled with celebrities and international jet-setters, including Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, and Andy Warhol, were treated to an opulent performance featuring Liza Minnelli, Josephine Baker, and Rudolph Nureyev. What they saw would forever alter the history of fashion.
The Americans at the Battle of Versailles- Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows - showed their work against the five French designers considered the best in the world - Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior. Plagued by in-fighting, outsized egos, shoestring budgets, and innumerable technical difficulties, the American contingent had little chance of meeting the European's exquisite and refined standards. But against all odds, the American energy and the domination by the fearless models (ten of whom, in a groundbreaking move, were African American) sent the audience reeling. By the end of the evening, the Americans had officially taken their place on the world's stage, prompting a major shift in the way race, gender, sexuality, and economics would be treated in fashion for decades to come. As the curtain came down on The Battle of Versailles, American fashion was born; no longer would the world look to Europe to determine the stylistic trends of the day, from here forward, American sensibility and taste would command the world's attention.
Pulitzer-Prize winning fashion journalist Robin Givhan offers a lively and meticulously well-researched account of this unique event. The Battle of Versailles is a sharp, engaging cultural history; this intimate examination of a single moment shows us how the world of fashion as we know it came to be.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published March 17, 2015
133 people are currently reading
4200 people want to read
About the author
Robin Givhan
10 books59 followersROBIN GIVHAN is a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times. Previously, as The Washington Post's senior critic-at-large, she wrote about politics, race, and the arts, covering the fashion industry as a business, as a cultural institution, and as pure pleasure. She is a Pulitzer Prize winner for criticism and author of The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History. In addition to the Post, where she has also covered Michelle Obama, Givhan has worked at Newsweek, Daily Beast, Vogue, and the Detroit Free Press.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
May 18, 2021
In the autumn of 1973, a fundraiser to refurbish the dilapidated palace of Versailles was conceived. The organizers arranged a fashion show, where ten designers - five French, five American - would be invited to showcase their collections. The show was originally intended to be a neutral showcase, but as soon as the press became aware of the American designers that were invited, the event was blown into an all-out competition between the two factions - and what was originally billed as the Grand Divertissement a Versailles became the Battle of Versailles.
Givhan gives us a quick primer on the history of couture, and then throws us right into the intense planning and strategizing that went into this event. Nothing was simple, from the question of who should be invited, to the set list, to the hotel arrangements for the models. In addition to the logistical headaches that come with any large-scale event, this was also the fashion event of the year, and dealing with the oversized personalities and egos of everyone involved was a task in itself.
Unfortunately, Givhan's book isn't nearly as exhaustive as I wanted it to be. She'll mention offhandedly that part of the arrangements for the show involved weeks of negotiating and cajoling the various designers, but then breezes right past that statement. The show itself, from beginning to end, takes up just one chapter. One of the best history books I've ever read ( Vienna, 1814) is great because the author goes in-depth into all the petty personal squabbles that were going on between these huge historical figures, and how that inter-personal drama changed history forever. That was what I wanted The Battle of Versailles to be - I wanted to hear all about the massive egos, the fights, the negotiations, who was sleeping with who, etc. I wanted Givhan to give us the dirt, but she mostly skims over that, maybe out of a fear that her audience wouldn't care. But I assure you, I care very much.
It takes us almost to the very end of the book – practically the epilogue – before Givhan finally gets down to the thesis of The Battle of Versailles: that the success of the show can be attributed, not to the designers, but to the black women who modeled in the American designers' show. The ten women who walked the runway at Versailles revolutionized the way fashion shows were staged and performed, and this should have opened up a new world of diversity within haute couture. Instead, they were left behind, and nonwhite models to this day struggle to earn their place in the high fashion world.
You can see another book peeking out from behind the pages of this one - an exhaustive history of black influence on high fashion and how that influence has been minimized and uncredited for decades, where the Battle of Versailles is merely a chapter or two of a much larger work. The Battle of Versailles is a perfectly serviceable introduction to high fashion in the 1970s, but ultimately it can't decide which story it wants to tell.
Givhan gives us a quick primer on the history of couture, and then throws us right into the intense planning and strategizing that went into this event. Nothing was simple, from the question of who should be invited, to the set list, to the hotel arrangements for the models. In addition to the logistical headaches that come with any large-scale event, this was also the fashion event of the year, and dealing with the oversized personalities and egos of everyone involved was a task in itself.
Unfortunately, Givhan's book isn't nearly as exhaustive as I wanted it to be. She'll mention offhandedly that part of the arrangements for the show involved weeks of negotiating and cajoling the various designers, but then breezes right past that statement. The show itself, from beginning to end, takes up just one chapter. One of the best history books I've ever read ( Vienna, 1814) is great because the author goes in-depth into all the petty personal squabbles that were going on between these huge historical figures, and how that inter-personal drama changed history forever. That was what I wanted The Battle of Versailles to be - I wanted to hear all about the massive egos, the fights, the negotiations, who was sleeping with who, etc. I wanted Givhan to give us the dirt, but she mostly skims over that, maybe out of a fear that her audience wouldn't care. But I assure you, I care very much.
It takes us almost to the very end of the book – practically the epilogue – before Givhan finally gets down to the thesis of The Battle of Versailles: that the success of the show can be attributed, not to the designers, but to the black women who modeled in the American designers' show. The ten women who walked the runway at Versailles revolutionized the way fashion shows were staged and performed, and this should have opened up a new world of diversity within haute couture. Instead, they were left behind, and nonwhite models to this day struggle to earn their place in the high fashion world.
You can see another book peeking out from behind the pages of this one - an exhaustive history of black influence on high fashion and how that influence has been minimized and uncredited for decades, where the Battle of Versailles is merely a chapter or two of a much larger work. The Battle of Versailles is a perfectly serviceable introduction to high fashion in the 1970s, but ultimately it can't decide which story it wants to tell.
April 6, 2015
Givhan is a beautiful writer, so the actual act of reading was relatively painless. Unfortunately, it wasn't clear who she wrote this book for -- a total fashion addict or a more general reader with an interest in cultural history -- and I think both camps would come away from this feeling unsatisfied. Fashionistas will find little they didn't already know -- true to her position as a journalist in Washington, D.C., Givhan is ever politic in her judgements of and gossip about even the most awful, narcissistic boors -- and the lack of photos (especially color ones) is a huge miss for those interested in the visual spectacle of it all. (A documentary about Versailles '73 came out last year which I think might be of more interest to the budding Halstons among us.) Similarly, someone interested in the racial/sexual cultural upheavals of the 70s will not find a very strong through-line to sustain their interest here, as much of the book is focused on what effectively amounts to reciting the LinkedIn profiles of several of the designers. Yes, In the last few chapters, Givhan tries to extend the book's scope to take on a larger conversation about the past, present, and future of people of color in fashion, but it felt a bit tacked on and unconvincing as a fully fleshed out argument -- the "Black is Beautiful" moment deserves its own book, for sure, and Givhan deserves a more expansive place to expand on her thoughts.
April 26, 2019
The "Battle" was a fashion show in France in 1973, where five French designers showed, then five American designers. It wasn't truly a competition, but the Americans, with their movement and their energetic Black models, definitely won it. The French assumed they would be victorious, so it was really a case of the old world versus the new world. The old world didn't die, but it had to change. Givhan writes amazingly about the shifts which were to come in fashion and culture.
April 2, 2015
“The Battle of Versailles” is an entertaining snap shot of at time, 1973, when American fashion designers and their models stepped into the limelight. It was a show that featured five designers some of who were new and practically unknown and some who were quickly approaching iconic stature. These five Americans were pitted against five high profile French designers. France never saw these Americans coming since they’d dominated the fashion world for quite awhile. The French were still entrenched in Haute Couture, the Americans were moving toward dressing the masses for their new lifestyles in affordable off the rack clothes. This charity show was not formally called a competition but it evolved into one.
Givhan’s writing is clear and engaging and she supplies lots of facts in short amount of time. I especially enjoyed how she highlighted the models as well as the designers. This was a time when race relations were evolving so it was surprising that almost a third of the models who went to France were African-American. It was the era of the disco and everyone was on the move but at the Versailles show the Americans played contemporary music and the models move to the beat. This was juxtaposed against the sedate movements that the French models traditionally were accustomed to.
There is a section towards the last part of the book where Givhan goes into details of post show events were things get slow but she picks it up again in the last 30 pages. I kept wishing there were more pictures included but net searches quickly brought up the images I was interested in.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC.
Givhan’s writing is clear and engaging and she supplies lots of facts in short amount of time. I especially enjoyed how she highlighted the models as well as the designers. This was a time when race relations were evolving so it was surprising that almost a third of the models who went to France were African-American. It was the era of the disco and everyone was on the move but at the Versailles show the Americans played contemporary music and the models move to the beat. This was juxtaposed against the sedate movements that the French models traditionally were accustomed to.
There is a section towards the last part of the book where Givhan goes into details of post show events were things get slow but she picks it up again in the last 30 pages. I kept wishing there were more pictures included but net searches quickly brought up the images I was interested in.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC.
August 19, 2025
3.5
Interesting!!! But could have been more pleasant to read
Interesting!!! But could have been more pleasant to read
November 2, 2025
4.75⭐️
j'adore fashion
As a love of the fashion world, more especially fashion history, this was such a treat. I've heard of the Battle at Versailles, but Robin Givhan details, not only the titular showdown between French and American designers, but the history of why France ruled the runway, and how American fashion rose to prominence. This is a wonderful amalgamation of history, drama, and art appreciation.
j'adore fashion
As a love of the fashion world, more especially fashion history, this was such a treat. I've heard of the Battle at Versailles, but Robin Givhan details, not only the titular showdown between French and American designers, but the history of why France ruled the runway, and how American fashion rose to prominence. This is a wonderful amalgamation of history, drama, and art appreciation.
April 26, 2015
I don't think there's a single fact or detail about this important night in fashion history that my intrepid friend and colleague Robin Givhan has not chased down here. This is a great book for anyone who believes in the strange power that comes from singular events and the legends/stories that flow from that event. Men write books all the time about this phenomena, usually about a sports event in the past. So think of this book like that -- a historical excavation of a competition like no other, that set the tone for fashion (i.e., what we looked like, what we came to define as beauty, etc.) for many years to come, told in absolutely solid context of the history and industry that preceded it.
July 22, 2019
"The tale unfolds in France, but the story is wholly American: a culmination of social shifts, racial conflicts, politics, ambition, idealism, and magic."
Robin Givhan, The Battle of Versailles
Robin Givhan, The Battle of Versailles
September 1, 2021
This book was so well paced and the ending is absolutely marvelous.
February 22, 2015
Robin Givhan, the fashion reporter for the Washington Post, writes an interesting book, "The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History". It's the story of a sort "Battle of the Bands", but this was a "Battle of the Designers"; French vs American. The French went into the November 1973 evening as the winners, but as the long evening ended, the Americans emerged victorious.
The competition, set up by American fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert with the assistance of French aristocrat Marie-Helene de Rothschild, was held in the Theatre Gabriel in the Chateau de Versailles. It was ostensibly a benefit for charity; the evening would be dinner and a fashion show. But what a fashion show; five designated French designers vs five designated American designers. Both would present a show to the 800 or so guests, combining fashion with a bit of showmanship. The guests would declare a winner.
The early 1970's, when the competition occurred was a changing time in the fashion world. Many of the old-world designers like Chanel and Dior had died - Dior in 1957 and Chanel in 1971 - and the lives of many of the wealthy women who had been devoted customers of haute couture had changed; no longer were they changing their clothes three and four times a day. Life was simplified and ready-to-wear was coming into it's own. The American designers were moving into these designs perhaps a bit more rapidly than their French counterparts. Now was the time to see who had the vision of the future.
While most of Givhan's book is about the ten fashion designers chosen to compete, she gives a lot of space to the models, particularly those used by the American designers. Robin Givhan, who is African-American, writes of the 10 African-American models brought to Paris. Some were established models - or as much as black models could be in those days - and others were breaking into the business. (This was the days before "super-models"; these models didn't MIND "waking up for less than $10,000 a day") But all were gorgeous (I had to look them up on Wiki because the readers copy of the book I was reading didn't include pictures other than a few on the inside front and back covers. The published copies of the book will have 16 pages of pictures.) And all knew how to move and to show the designs off with a flair perhaps lacking in their French counterparts.
Was the American success at the show less the great clothes by the American designers and more the great moves that showed them off? Was the "showmanship" the designs...or the models? Givhan's book is an interesting read to all us "fashionistas" out there. Will the book appeal to those not interested in fashion and society. No, probably not as much. But I enjoyed it. And if you're reading this review, you probably will, too.
Comment Comment | Permalink
The competition, set up by American fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert with the assistance of French aristocrat Marie-Helene de Rothschild, was held in the Theatre Gabriel in the Chateau de Versailles. It was ostensibly a benefit for charity; the evening would be dinner and a fashion show. But what a fashion show; five designated French designers vs five designated American designers. Both would present a show to the 800 or so guests, combining fashion with a bit of showmanship. The guests would declare a winner.
The early 1970's, when the competition occurred was a changing time in the fashion world. Many of the old-world designers like Chanel and Dior had died - Dior in 1957 and Chanel in 1971 - and the lives of many of the wealthy women who had been devoted customers of haute couture had changed; no longer were they changing their clothes three and four times a day. Life was simplified and ready-to-wear was coming into it's own. The American designers were moving into these designs perhaps a bit more rapidly than their French counterparts. Now was the time to see who had the vision of the future.
While most of Givhan's book is about the ten fashion designers chosen to compete, she gives a lot of space to the models, particularly those used by the American designers. Robin Givhan, who is African-American, writes of the 10 African-American models brought to Paris. Some were established models - or as much as black models could be in those days - and others were breaking into the business. (This was the days before "super-models"; these models didn't MIND "waking up for less than $10,000 a day") But all were gorgeous (I had to look them up on Wiki because the readers copy of the book I was reading didn't include pictures other than a few on the inside front and back covers. The published copies of the book will have 16 pages of pictures.) And all knew how to move and to show the designs off with a flair perhaps lacking in their French counterparts.
Was the American success at the show less the great clothes by the American designers and more the great moves that showed them off? Was the "showmanship" the designs...or the models? Givhan's book is an interesting read to all us "fashionistas" out there. Will the book appeal to those not interested in fashion and society. No, probably not as much. But I enjoyed it. And if you're reading this review, you probably will, too.
Comment Comment | Permalink
June 8, 2022
Givhan is, at least to me, one of the greatest fashion writers of our times and this book is a clear proof of that. Her writing is astoundingly multilevel—appealing to fashionphiles as well as to people foreign to the chiffon trenches—and still, she achieves an entertaining, tantalizing and thorough document of fashion history and social critique.
June 11, 2018
I liked the book. I loved the story. But what I think the lack of photos was detrimental to the book. This was about a spectacle of fashion in the 70s. There should have been dozens more photos. I also thought the book lacked cohesiveness. I loved the inclusion of the African-American element but Givhan did not adequately weave that into the Versailles narrative. It’s almost as if she realized she was writing a book on African-American fashion stars half way into writing a book about the Versailles spectacle.
February 10, 2019
This book was both boring and snarky- an interesting combination. The author obviously favored some designers over others- I do not appreciate personal opinions coming through in this type of non-fiction. I gave up about halfway through- there are too many other books out there I want to read to make myself keep plodding through this. And I would not have made it that far if it hadn't been for a book club. Well, the description of the book sure sounded interesting :-)
July 30, 2019
Meh. I hoped it would be a dishy, trash-talking backstory of the fashion biz in Paris - sort of a Kitchen Confidential of Haute Couture. Instead it was a rather bland affirmation of American design. Fashion, how we present ourselves to the world, can be fascinating.
June 21, 2021
I’ve long been a fan of Robin Givhan’s writing — particularly her fashion writing. In this book, she tells not only the story of the greatest fashion even of the 20th Century but also tells the history of fashion in the last 60 years.
November 8, 2024
excelente book as a fashion student, but tbh it’s not clear at all for what public it’s specifically written for. Givhan is one of the best we otters on the field without no doubt
June 2, 2025
un livre très complet, assez digeste car écrit comme un roman même si tout est très documenté (avec Source à la fin). il y a beaucoup de contexte socio-historique et une analyse sur ce qui s'est passé et comment ça a reelement influencé la mode aujourd'hui. Même si le livre est autour de cet événement clef de la mode, ils ont conscience que ça n'a aucun pas tout changer non plus.
February 17, 2015
In 1976 there was the Judgment of Paris, in which California wines were found to be better than French, in blind tastings by French judges. Throughout the 1970s American cooks including Julia Child and James Beard were realizing that as much as they loved French cuisine, American cuisine was coming into its own, making French dishes seem heavy and dull by comparison. And in 1973, the Battle of Versailles brought upstart American designers head to head with haute couture French designers.
Fashion editor Robin Givhan, fashion editor at the Washington Post (I remember her for calling out Dick Cheney for wearing a highly inappropriate ski parka and wooly hat to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz ten years ago), describes the fashion show in detail, who was there, what led up to it, and the after effects of the event.
I have to confess that I don't know much about fashion and I was hoping that the book would be about more than fashion. After all, a lot was going on at the time, what with the feminist movement, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War. For the most part though, Givhan concentrates on fashion and the people of the moment. She gives short biographies of the five American designers who were invited to the show, tells about the influential socialites who could make or break a designer, and interviews the models who wore the clothes.
Givhan takes special note of Stephen Burrows, who was the only black American designer to attend, and the ten black models who stole the show. In fact, the show was choreographed and staged almost like a Broadway musical, with performances by Liza Minnelli and Josephine Baker, and split second timing by the models, which the spectators found to be refreshingly original and exhilarating.
But while the Americans made a big splash, made ready-to-wear respectable, and had a great time, only one of the designers continued to be successful, the models did not strike it rich, and there are still only a few black designers getting any attention.
A detailed, sometimes gossipy, look at the 1970s fashion world.
Fashion editor Robin Givhan, fashion editor at the Washington Post (I remember her for calling out Dick Cheney for wearing a highly inappropriate ski parka and wooly hat to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz ten years ago), describes the fashion show in detail, who was there, what led up to it, and the after effects of the event.
I have to confess that I don't know much about fashion and I was hoping that the book would be about more than fashion. After all, a lot was going on at the time, what with the feminist movement, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War. For the most part though, Givhan concentrates on fashion and the people of the moment. She gives short biographies of the five American designers who were invited to the show, tells about the influential socialites who could make or break a designer, and interviews the models who wore the clothes.
Givhan takes special note of Stephen Burrows, who was the only black American designer to attend, and the ten black models who stole the show. In fact, the show was choreographed and staged almost like a Broadway musical, with performances by Liza Minnelli and Josephine Baker, and split second timing by the models, which the spectators found to be refreshingly original and exhilarating.
But while the Americans made a big splash, made ready-to-wear respectable, and had a great time, only one of the designers continued to be successful, the models did not strike it rich, and there are still only a few black designers getting any attention.
A detailed, sometimes gossipy, look at the 1970s fashion world.
June 1, 2015
Thoroughly enjoyed the historical fashion competition between the Americans and the French. Impressed that the fashion industry was instrumental in the preservation and renovation of such an historic building. Having been at Versailles on numerous occasions, I easily visualized the worthwhile efforts made to the palace and theater.
I was fortunate that my sister shared her copy of The Battle of Versailles with me.
I was fortunate that my sister shared her copy of The Battle of Versailles with me.
December 27, 2018
I know nothing about fashion. My level of familiarity with the subject matter of this book was “I’ve heard of ... almost all the designers featured at the actual Versailles show? But hang on let me google a couple of them real quick.” I still really enjoyed this. It’s not just about the show itself, or even mostly about the show itself; it’s about what the fashion world, especially the couture world, was like before this watershed period, and during, and after. And it is very much about race and fashion, race and couture, race and modeling.
It took a while for the book to pick up for me, mostly because Givhan spends some time setting a stage for an audience she presumes to be at least slightly into fashion, and I am definitely not that audience. But after I keyed into it, I was fascinated.
It was still the slowest read ever for me, though, and I will tell you why. Fashion is a visual medium. Givhan describes collections and dresses and designers’ styles, but mostly in sketch format — reminding everyone of this person’s clean lines and that person’s floral flounces and this one dress’s amazing hemline. She expects that everyone is going to know about that Gucci show in 1996! And that de la Renta dress from Sex and the City — everyone remembers that, right? Nope. I did not know about that show, and I did not know about that dress, and I did not know about any of the many many other shows or collections or dresses mentioned in this book, and one is mentioned basically every other sentence. So I pretty much evenly divided my time between reading and googling things like “Halston collection 1969.”
But! I saw a lot of interesting clothes. I learned many interesting things. And I enjoyed this book. Just, wow, read it only if and when you have unfettered access to google.
It took a while for the book to pick up for me, mostly because Givhan spends some time setting a stage for an audience she presumes to be at least slightly into fashion, and I am definitely not that audience. But after I keyed into it, I was fascinated.
It was still the slowest read ever for me, though, and I will tell you why. Fashion is a visual medium. Givhan describes collections and dresses and designers’ styles, but mostly in sketch format — reminding everyone of this person’s clean lines and that person’s floral flounces and this one dress’s amazing hemline. She expects that everyone is going to know about that Gucci show in 1996! And that de la Renta dress from Sex and the City — everyone remembers that, right? Nope. I did not know about that show, and I did not know about that dress, and I did not know about any of the many many other shows or collections or dresses mentioned in this book, and one is mentioned basically every other sentence. So I pretty much evenly divided my time between reading and googling things like “Halston collection 1969.”
But! I saw a lot of interesting clothes. I learned many interesting things. And I enjoyed this book. Just, wow, read it only if and when you have unfettered access to google.
November 7, 2024
This book was enjoyable, but would be exceedingly more so if I were more immersed, attentive and engaged in fashion and its history. As it is, with the unceasing litany of names - And I do mean unceasing - it was a bit painful to get through, much less to keep track of. The best part of the book was easily the Battle; before, it fell flat, dragging on a BIT, and after was mostly just sad. Unfortunately, the battle was the shortest part of it all, maybe due to the press constraints, but probably to the benefit of the re-telling. Loved the battle, though, would kill to see a recording or more photos of the pieces. It is such a cool historical event. It's crazy to me that some of the models just folded into anonymity. It was life-changing and also somehow...wasn't. A lot of the designers (de la Renta excluded) met sad ends, their once glorious names tarnished or critiqued into obscure infamy. Makes you take a cynical look at legacy. Similar to the Battle itself, the most interesting aspect was the black models and their stories, followed by how the designers utilized what they had despite the obstacles. Classic USA underdog story.
It was dragged down overall by the minutiae of detail - At the same time, I'm glad the relevant people are notated, some form of legacy endurance, so I can understand the point of detailing the history leading up to it. Perhaps simply not my own personal interests. Worth the read if you don't mind sludging through a little bit. I'm glad I know the history now - A forty-five minute video essay might have been able to convey it better though.
It was dragged down overall by the minutiae of detail - At the same time, I'm glad the relevant people are notated, some form of legacy endurance, so I can understand the point of detailing the history leading up to it. Perhaps simply not my own personal interests. Worth the read if you don't mind sludging through a little bit. I'm glad I know the history now - A forty-five minute video essay might have been able to convey it better though.
March 20, 2017
I don't read much non-fiction, but this was on NPR's book concierge a couple years ago, and was "in" at the library.
Remember when you first read "The DaVinci Code" and you spent half your time looking up the sculptures/paintings/buildings Brown was describing? I was like that but pulling up haute couture and designers and models while reading this book. It was the 70's... American Women were starting to go to work, and Anne Klein was designing "separates"... a wholly new concept in fashion, and being made fun of by her contemporaries. Design houses up to that point were primarily stuck up snobs creating dresses that were essentially French knock-offs.
Enter the 70's... disco fever, the sexual revolution, equal rights and civil rights were creating American fashion and turning convention on its ear. Then (booming voice) a competition between five French designers and five American designers at the famed Versailles Palace showed who had the chops for the fashion future.
PS: This was back before hollywood starlets filled the seats at fashion shows. Versailles was packed with French and British royalty and "money so old it smelled stale."
Donna Karan (Anne Klein's protoge) said "the tiaras were wearing tiaras!".
Funny how much I liked it (as I sit in my goodwill jeans and thrift store turtleneck :D )
Remember when you first read "The DaVinci Code" and you spent half your time looking up the sculptures/paintings/buildings Brown was describing? I was like that but pulling up haute couture and designers and models while reading this book. It was the 70's... American Women were starting to go to work, and Anne Klein was designing "separates"... a wholly new concept in fashion, and being made fun of by her contemporaries. Design houses up to that point were primarily stuck up snobs creating dresses that were essentially French knock-offs.
Enter the 70's... disco fever, the sexual revolution, equal rights and civil rights were creating American fashion and turning convention on its ear. Then (booming voice) a competition between five French designers and five American designers at the famed Versailles Palace showed who had the chops for the fashion future.
PS: This was back before hollywood starlets filled the seats at fashion shows. Versailles was packed with French and British royalty and "money so old it smelled stale."
Donna Karan (Anne Klein's protoge) said "the tiaras were wearing tiaras!".
Funny how much I liked it (as I sit in my goodwill jeans and thrift store turtleneck :D )
November 7, 2024
I read this during "Nonfiction November," but you could easily read it for Black History month, as that turned out to be a main focus of the book, not what you'd expect from the book description. The actual fashion show and everything that led up to it is written in the middling style of run of the mill nonfiction titles. Aside from the aforementioned point of view, which often seemed to overtake the ostensible main topic, it could have been (poorly) written by anyone. The format is very familiar. So read it for the historical content, but don't expect the writing to elevate the story.
This type of nonfiction typically glosses each person or event and quickly moves on, often giving the feel of a summary for grade school-level readers rather than a compelling narrative. It's both all over the place and tediously repetitive because no writerly or editorial hand has shaped it into something greater than the sum of its parts.
At least this book did have that second thing going on, the author's thoughts about the black experience in America, to which she injected the personal energy and focus lacking in the titled part of the story.
This type of nonfiction typically glosses each person or event and quickly moves on, often giving the feel of a summary for grade school-level readers rather than a compelling narrative. It's both all over the place and tediously repetitive because no writerly or editorial hand has shaped it into something greater than the sum of its parts.
At least this book did have that second thing going on, the author's thoughts about the black experience in America, to which she injected the personal energy and focus lacking in the titled part of the story.
May 30, 2021
While I had heard bits about this epic battle on a podcast, it was after watching Halston that I went in search of a book just about that night. What a treasure! I absolutely loved the book and devoured it in a couple of days. This book highlights not just the designers, but Eleanor Lambert, who conceived the idea and had been working to put American fashion on the same par as Paris, and the models who were so integral in making that night a turning point in fashion. The diversity of the models and their personalities made the success possible for the designers and gave a newfound respect for American Fashion. It seems as if fashion has gotten a bit less progressive since that night. The book is so much more than a fluff piece about a fashion show. It was so well researched with such a wealth of material. An excellent and satisfying read.
August 24, 2023
I must've read this book about four times by now. It's just a classic story arc: the underdog American fashion representatives (designers and models) win despite not having enough rehearsal time, proper sets, and regular meals--plus, the designers are constantly fighting, one of them is silently and valiantly battling cancer. . .and Halston refers to himself in the third person and storms off to sulk in his limousine.
It's a fantastic story of a bygone era when deals were made with handshakes and designers were revolutionary for pulling inspiration from the streets instead of from high society. I particularly adore the story of the Black models who struggled with even being booked for jobs in America but who—in Paris—were the stars of Versailles. Fantastic and moving social history.
It's a fantastic story of a bygone era when deals were made with handshakes and designers were revolutionary for pulling inspiration from the streets instead of from high society. I particularly adore the story of the Black models who struggled with even being booked for jobs in America but who—in Paris—were the stars of Versailles. Fantastic and moving social history.
May 20, 2021
acredito que é um livro muito interessante para quem quer aprender mais sobre a história da moda. porém, a primeira ‘parte’ do livro que faz um resumão da história me pareceu mais interessante e seguindo um ritmo melhor do que quando chegamos na metade do livro. gihvan é uma jornalista incrível, e talvez eu esperava mais críticas envolvendo questões raciais, políticas ou sociais. essas questões são apresentadas, e é visível que ela quis pontuar um pouco essas questões mas não chega a entrar em um nível muito profundo.
April 13, 2025
This was a great true story. If you're into fashion, it's a must-read. It provides an excellent history of fashion and how it was changing in the mid-twentieth centry. Then the 1973 fashon show at Versaille pitting French haute couture houses against American ready-to-wear houses changed it all. The only reason I didn't give the book 4 stars is because I thought a lot of time was spent on the names and details of people who were very minor characters. I thought all of the minor details weighed down the book and made it laborious to read at times.
January 4, 2021
The title sets the scene and hints at the themes behind the Battle of Versailles, but the author weaves in so much interesting backstory and context that the sum is greater than the parts. Givhan covers the history, the political situations, the economy, the social structures and a whole bunch of amazing detail that makes this all very three dimensional. I love the author’s writing in the Washington Post and wanted to read this longer work. It was worth the time.
June 10, 2021
This book centers around a single event, a fashion show at Versailles, featuring both French and American designers. I was really frustrated by the lack of photos. I wanted to see the fashions and see the people, not just read about them. Also, this fashion show was interesting and influential, but perhaps not enough material for an entire book.
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. Yay!
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. Yay!
August 5, 2021
That night at Versailles has making of a cinema. For someone like me who is not enamoured by fashion, it came as a pleasant surprise. Wish more pages were devoted to that night and days preceding it. For me book ended with that triumphant night , as later part of the book becomes too journalistic and miss story telling elements. Sometimes writing becomes too banal and looses the grip it has over the reader. Good story teller could have made meatier book out of it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews