The Stephen Sprouse Book [Hardcover]

Roger Padilha (Author), Mauricio Padilha (Author), Tama Janowitz (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 13, 2009

Inventive, enigmatic, and supremely creative, Stephen Sprouse made art and clothing that captured the mood of the eighties. One of the first American designers to mix graffiti and a punk aesthetic with fashion, Sprouse manipulated conventional notions of style, and his unique sensibility has inspired designers from John Galliano to Raf Simmons to Marc Jacobs. Sprouse’s career started in the late seventies, when, after working for Halston, he migrated to a warehouse on the Bowery and started making outfits for his neighbor, Debbie Harry. The fashion world quickly embraced his innovative, culturally relevant sensibility and downtown edge. But Sprouse’s inability to compromise his artistic vision for the rigid fashion business compromised his commercial success. The Padilhas possess the largest private collection of Sprouse’s work, and were given exclusive access to his archives by his family for this project. They also obtained never-before-published images from photographers such as Steven Meisel, Bob Gruen, and Mert and Marcus. The book features a foreword by the novelist Tama Janowitz, one of Sprouse’s closest friends. The release of this book coincides with a retrospective at Deitch Projects. The book will be available with four different jackets, each featuring a different Day-Glo color, an homage to Sprouse’s iconic album cover for Debbie Harry’s Rockbird.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...gets the star treatment in Rizzoli's upcoming The Stephen Sprouse Book, providing unfettered access to his work and wild life." ~ELLE

"As the book’s extensive interviews with friends Anna Sui, Iggy Pop and Kate Moss attest, Sprouse was both very much of his time and way ahead of it." ~Black Book

"The volume is as colorful and dynamic as Sprouse's life..." ~Soma Magazine

"...a collectible work of art." ~Nylon

"The Stephen Sprouse Book... gorgeously packages photos, sketches and personal anecdotes from the late icon’s inner circle." ~ModernTonic.com

"This much anticipated book is deeply researched and stunningly illustrated and designed." ~FashionDig.com

"The Padilhas have succeeded in making a book that many people believe was made by Sprouse himself..." ~JCReport.com

"In conjunction with the exhibition, Rizzoli is set to release a book of Sprouse's work by Roger and Mauricio Padilha." ~Paper Magazine

"[the] Padilha[s] profile the late oddity in painstaking depth..." ~Anthem Magazine

About the Author

Mauricio Padilha and Roger Padilha run MAO Public Relations, MAO SPACE, a series of runway shows that coincide with New York Fashion Week, and publish MAO MAG, a bi-annual fashion magazine. Tama Janowitz is the author of seven novels, including Slaves of New York.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (January 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847832163
• ISBN-13: 978-0847832163
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 1.5 x 11.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Fashion

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sprouse Goodness, August 15, 2009

By 

W. Rosen "chickendog" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stephen Sprouse Book (Hardcover)

This book is an amazing treat for Stephen Sprouse fans. It's filled with mostly photos of Sprouse's fashion collections along with some anecdotes about him. It covers his entire output including the "collaborative" pieces that came out recently from Louis Vuitton. But the best stuff is from the 1980's and it shows just how influential he was as a designer and how far ahead of his time he was by mixing street art, graffiti, and high art using clothes as his medium. I only wish there were even more photos from that perdiod. Everything is full color, there are 4 different book cover colors (mine is pink) and there's also a limited edition Sprouse Graffiti/LV cover for collectors. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STEPHEN SPROUSE BOOK, November 24, 2009

By 

Patrick Sleem (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Stephen Sprouse Book (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book detailing the life and work of one of America's most notable contemporary artists and fashion designers. Stephen Sprouse was definitely ahead of his time both artistically and commercially. He remains one of my most favorite artists/fashion designers even to this day. My one comment about purchasing this book was that it comes in four different accent color-ways for the title and lettering on the cover and spine (Day-Glo Pink, Yellow, Green or Orange), and there was no way for one to choose which color one wants to buy on Amazon. The book cover color-way you get comes randomly. I wish they would have implemented this choice as one choses a t-shirt color when one buys. I would have preferred the Orange color-way. Otherwise this is an amazing book for fans of post-modern art and fashion.