Geoffrey Beene: The Anatomy of His Work [Hardcover]

Brenda Cullerton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Never one to toe the fashion-establishment line, Geoffrey Beene has always been in a class by himself. For more than 30 years, Beene has pursued his own uncompromising breed of modernism, creating clothes that streamline the female form. This bright, witty biography brings a new level of understanding and meaning to Beene's life and career. 120 photos, 70 in color.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

"Clothes should look as if a woman were born into them. It is a form of possession, this belonging to one another." This statement sums up the design philosophy of one of this country's most innovative couturiers. For more than 30 years, Beene, a one-time medical student from Louisiana and an eight-time winner of the prestigious Coty Award, has revolutionized feminine fashion, liberating women from the "conventional mechanics of dress" by removing paddings and interlinings, zippers and fasteners from his lighter-than-air jumpsuits and gowns. He has also turned the traditional fashion show upside down, abandoning runways and star models in favor of art installations and dancers whose leaps and grand jetes display the luxurious freedom of movement his clothes allow. This beautiful volume, lavishly illustrated with 120 photos by the world's great fashion photographers, is not a chronological retrospective of Beene's work (although his structured 1960s dresses are presented) but rather an aesthetic appreciation of his artistry. Following an introduction by Richard Martin and Harold Koda, curators of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, fashion journalist Cullerton examines Beene's unique qualities?his geometric designs, his bold use of color, his juxtaposition of luxurious fabrics with the humble (satin with gingham). For academic and larger public library fashion collections.?Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This very oversize book is both a biography of clothes designer Beene and a photo-essay on his work. Although the text is witty and informative, it is the pictures, more than 120 of them, in color and black and white, that really capture and hold the reader's attention. And why not? Beene's glorious clothes, with their emphasis on shining colors and breath-catching shapes, are this eight-time Coty award winner's legacy. Larger libraries will want this beautiful volume, as will any library with a concentration on fashion or the arts. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams; First edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810931419
• ISBN-13: 978-0810931411
• Product Dimensions: 14.1 x 10.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,067,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great photos, horrible text., October 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Geoffrey Beene: The Anatomy of His Work (Hardcover)

I'm surprised that Booklist calls the text of this book "witty and informative." I found the text to be the major weakness of the book. It's vague, rambling, and completely UNinformative. I didn't learn about Beene's background, education, training, or business. All I got was a lot of fashion-speak garble about his brilliance and genius. The writing is just really, really bad.

The most interesting part of the book is the final section, which is entirely quotes from Beene himself. The photos are lovely, but 120 is too few to give a good overview of Beene's work; he has been designing for 30+ years and must have designed hundreds or even thousands of garments by now. This book shows too few of them.

Overall, this book was disappointing.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great photos, but not much biography on Mr. Beene..., February 19, 2001

By 

Eric McCalla "reviewboy" (Denver, COLORADO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Geoffrey Beene: The Anatomy of His Work (Hardcover)

As this is one of the few books available on the artistry of Geoffrey Beene, it is both a welcome addition to the world of fashion-photography books and sadly, a very weak treatment of the how-and-why of his work. The photos are oversized and some are gate-folded, but there are not nearly enough to cover the breadth of more than 30 year's design that is Beene's history. He is and always will be apart from many American designers. His is a mixture of the ease/casual feel of sportswear, and at the same time, the epitome of the couturier/dressmaker's craft. Aerodynamic, sleek, modern, iconoclastic are just some of the words used to describe his vision. However, the publisher neglected to go into greater detail as to why Beene is described as such. It would have been helpful to read of his early days working in Paris couture workrooms picking up pins and assisting with the production of toiles. Such is one of the many stories that surround the Beene legend. The quotations from Beene himself are somewhat informative, but someone should write a definitive biography of his life and work in greater detail. A nice book to look at, but not much more.