Alexandre Vassiliev

Beauty in Exile: The Artists, Models, and Nobility Who Fled the Russian Revolution and Influenced the World of Fashion.
Alexandre Vassiliev.

Before and after the Russian Revolution, thousands of Russian emigres fled for their lives to the European capitals. This unique book reviews the influence of Russian emigres upon women's fashions during the early 20th century with over 840 black-and-white photographs and illustrations. The text describes successful accomplishments of dozens of Russian fashion houses during the 1920s and 1930s in Paris, Constantinople, Berlin, and Harbin in far-off China. Forced to support themselves, noble Russian refugees employed what they knew best: elegance, style, and good taste. The author is himself a costume and set decorator and fashion historian. NY: Harry Abrams, 2000. 480 pages. Deluxe format hardcover with dustjacket