This guide to fashion provides in more than 1,200 entries detailed information on the life and work of every important designer from 1840 up to the present day, including not only couturiers but also shoe, hat and knitwear specialists, costume designers, jewelers and hairdressers. It also covers the fashion media, photographers and illustrators, influential art movements, fashion terms, garment and accessory styles, technical processes, and every kind of fabric, as well as personalities who have influenced fashion or promoted a style. Extensively illustrated in both colour and black and white, international in scope and completely up to date, it is an essential sourcebook for designers, students, collectors and enthusiasts. Its full cross-referencing and wide-ranging bibliography provide invaluable additional information.