Scaasi American Couturier

What these women have in common is that they have all been dressed by Scaasi. From his meteoric rise on Seventh Avenue in the late 1950s through his heyday in the boom decade of the 1980s, Arnold Scaasi has remained one of the most distinctive and successful designers in American fashion. With his signature combination of elegance, flamboyance, surprising colors and fabrics, and finely honed craftsmanship, Scaasi is both a bold American original and a couturier (custom designer) in the grand European tradition. Scaasi: American Couturier presents the best of Scaasi's fashions in a handsomely packaged, fluidly organized volume. Alongside sumptuous portraits of more than three dozen outfits, the book features numerous period photographs; sketches, notes, and clippings from Scaasi's personal archives, most of them never before published; and interviews with Scaasi's famous clients, conducted specifically for this book. A feast for fashion watchers and design aficionados alike, American Couturier contains all the glamour and thrill that for decades have been synonymous with the Scaasi label.

Pamela A. Parmal Is David and Roberta Logie Curator of Textile and Fashion Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her previous publications include Textile and Fashion Arts (MFA Highlights), Fashion Show: Paris Style, and Samplers from A to Z.