Hussein Chalayan: the book
![Audrey Marnay fronts Hussein Chalayan's book](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vyuzfZTDq7nELBkBPsyTPa-415-80.jpg)
A 1998 Richard Avedon photograph of Carmen Kass and Audrey Marnay fronts Hussein Chalayan's book
Courtesy: Violette Editions
Major retrospective opening at the Louvre? Check. Launch of a critically acclaimed fragrance? Check. Garnering lots of positive vibes from the chattering classes of fashion, architecture and art (all at the same time)? Check. Just when you think there can be nothing left on Hussein Chalayan’s ‘To Do’ list for the summer, the designer brings out a huge, lavishly illustrated monograph, offering a comprehensive examination of his complete body of work to date.
Launched for the first time last week at an understated book signing in Mayfair’s Dover Street Market, Hussein Chalayan the book is published by Rizzoli and edited by Robert Violette. Including as much of the behind the scenes drawings and sketches as the catwalk shows, videos and other mixed-media endeavors of the London-based designer, the tome provides a rich insight into the influences and inspirations that have shaped his work. Essays from Judith Clark, Susannah Frankel, Emily King and Sarah Mower - among others - provide ample reading matter for the browser who can tear themselves away from the pictures.
Chalayan has never been one to do things by halves. ‘My whole thing with fashion was that I wanted it to reflect life,’ Chalayan once said of his multidisciplinary approach. ‘Other disciplines do that. I wanted an all-encompassing approach and through that I would also learn. I always like to read theory. Generally, more and more, I like contradictions, the things we know but can’t articulate.’
Chalayan, for all his subsequent achievements, is still best known as the designer who transformed a coffee table into a wooden skirt. And with this book, he’s created the ideal accessory to it.
A spread from Susannah Frankel's essay on Chalayan, Border Crossing. Left: Natalia Vodianova in US Vogue, 2004. Right: a portrait of the designer at Central Saint Martins in 1991
Courtesy: Violette Editions
Left: Heather Marks wears Hussein Chalayan in Pop Magazine, 2006. Right: stills from the designer's 2006 film, Compassion Fatigue
Courtesy: Violette Editions
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Stills from Chalayan's Spring/Summer 2010 show, Dolce Far Niente
Courtesy: Violette Editions
Erin O'Connor in Chalayan's Before Minus Now, Spring/Summer 2000
Before Minus Now, Spring/Summer 2000
The legendary 'skirt that turns into a coffee table' from Afterwords, Autumn/Winter 2000
Ventriloquy, Spring/Summer 2001
Mechanical dresses in One Hundred and Eleven, Spring/Summer 2007
Airborne, Autumn/Winter 2007
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Remembering Liquid Sky, the cult 1990s New York fashion store that was ‘also a scene’
As a new book is released, Liquid Sky founders Claudia Rey and Carlos Slinger tell Wallpaper’s Mary Cleary about the downtown fashion store that attracted New York’s underground and had Chloë Sevigny as a sales clerk
By Mary Cleary Published
-
Guido Palau completely transforms Kaia Gerber’s hair in new book ‘Hidden Identities’
Guido Palau and Kaia Gerber have collaborated on a book project, Hidden Identities, which sees the model sport a plethora of different wigs in technicolour shades
By Orla Brennan Published
-
’Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’ is a definitive guide to the pioneering Japanese designer
’Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’ is a new Taschen book that provides a comprehensive overview of the pioneering Japanese designer’s ’poetic but pragmatic’ work
By Jack Moss Published
-
Thom Browne on his 20th-anniversary book, curated by Andrew Bolton
‘Thom Browne’ the book, a collaboration with partner Andrew Bolton, charts the American designer’s career. Here, Browne tells Wallpaper* the story behind his first monograph
By Jack Moss Published
-
The finest fashion books for style enthusiasts
The fashion books taking pride of place on the Wallpaper* style desk, from enticing photographic tomes to rare limited-edition titles. Here, we explore the best new releases
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Fendi and Kim Jones pay tribute to Bloomsbury Set in new book
The Fendi Set: From Bloomsbury to Borghese, published by Rizzoli and featuring ethereal imagery by photographer Nikolai von Bismarck, celebrates the dual history of the Roman fashion house and the mid-20th century British intellectual group
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Louis Vuitton celebrates its ateliers and artisans in chic new tome
Louis Vuitton Manufactures, published by Assouline, explores the French maison’s craftsmanship through specially commissioned photography
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Tedy Eiley, the Paris-based brand inspired by mundane domesticity
Our Next Generation 2022 showcase shines a light on 22 outstanding graduates from around the globe, in seven creative fields. Here, we profile fashion graduate Brian Tusin, from Institut Français de la Mode, Paris
By Laura Hawkins Last updated