The First Book of Fashion: The Book of Clothes of Matthäus & Veit Konrad Schwarz of Augsburg

This captivating book reproduces arguably the most extraordinary primary source documents in fashion history. Providing a revealing window onto the Renaissance, they chronicle how style-conscious accountant Matthäus Schwarz and his son Veit Konrad experienced life through clothes, and climbed the social ladder through fastidious management of self-image. These bourgeois dandies' agenda resonates as powerfully today as it did in the sixteenth century: one has to dress to impress, and dress to impress they did. The Schwarzes recorded their sartorial triumphs as well as failures in life in a series of portraits by illuminists over 60 years, which have been comprehensively reproduced in full color for the first time. These exquisite illustrations are accompanied by the Schwarzes' fashion-focussed yet at times deeply personal captions, which render the pair the world's first fashion bloggers and pioneers of everyday portraiture. The First Book of Fashion demonstrates how dress – seemingly both ephemeral and trivial – is a potent tool in the right hands. Beyond this, it colorfully recaptures the experience of Renaissance life and reveals the importance of clothing to the aesthetics and every day culture of the period. Historians Ulinka Rublack's and Maria Hayward's insightful commentaries create an unparalleled portrait of sixteenth-century dress that is both strikingly modern and thorough in its description of a true Renaissance fashionista's wardrobe. This first English translation also includes a bespoke pattern by TONY award-winning costume designer and dress historian Jenny Tiramani, from which readers can recreate one of Schwarz's most elaborate and politically significant outfits. An obsession with fashion is nothing new. Throughout history, dress has mesmerised with its power to charm and communicate identity and status. In this first English translation of an extraordinary historical document - the earliest known book of fashion - fashion-conscious Renaissance man Matthäus Schwarz and his son Veit Konrad chronicle their lives through the clothes they wore. Lavishly illustrated, The First Book of Fashion recaptures the experience of sixteenth-century life through the rich intricacies of dress and its cultural meaning. The book unpicks the fabrics, cuts, colours and detail of these remarkable illustrations and their brilliant captions handwritten by Schwarz, arguably making him the first fashion blogger. Historians Ulinka Rublack and Maria Hayward bring the original manuscript to life with new, insightful commentaries alongside the original text, providing an unparalleled portrait of sixteenth-century dress and culture in context. Including a specially-designed pattern by Olivier award-winning costume designer Jenny Tiramani, from which readers can recreate one of Schwarz's original garments, this is a valuable resource for everyone from scholars to designers to fashion enthusiasts Cover Half title Title Copyright Table of Contents List of Illustration Foreword Preface to the revised paperback edition Introduction I: The First Book of Fashion: Ulinka Rublack Introduction II: Fashionable Masculinity: The Clothing of Matthäus and Veit Konrad Schwarz: Maria Hayward Editorial Notes The First Book of Fashion: Matthäus Schwarz of Augsburg The Book of clothes of Veit Konrad Schwarz, ca. 1561 Commentaries Reconstructing a Schwarz Outfit: Jenny Tiramani Glossary of Textile and Clothing Terms and Terms for Accessories Acknowledgements Index Preface / Prof. Dr. Jochen Luckhardt -- Introduction I: the first book of fashion / Ulinka Rublack -- Introduction II: fashionable masculinity: the clothing of Matthäus and Veit Konrad Schwarz / Maria Hayward -- The first book of fashion: Matthäus Schwarz of Augsburg -- The book of clothes of Veit Konrad Schwarz, ca. 1561 -- Reconstructing a Schwarz outfit / Jenny Tiramani