Infinite Variety by Scot D Ryersson
For the first three decades of the twentieth century, the Marchesa Casati astounded Europe: nude servants gilded in gold leaf attended her; bizarre wax mannequins sat as guests at her dining table; and she was infamous for her evening strolls, naked beneath her furs, parading cheetahs on diamond-studded leashes. Artists painted, sculpted, and photographed her; poets praised her strange beauty. Among them were Gabriele D'Annunzio, Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Cecil Beaton, and American writers Tennessee Williams, Jack Kerouac, and Ezra Pound. Couturiers Fortuny, Poiret, and Ert' dressed her. Some became lovers, others awestruck admirers, but all were influenced by this extraordinary muse. The extravagance ended in 1930 when Casati was more than twenty-five million dollars in debt. Fleeing to London, she spent her final flamboyant years there until her death in 1957. Now nearly a half-century later, Casati's fashion legacy continues to inspire such designers as John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, and Tom Ford. Fully authorized and accurate, this is the fantastic story of the Marchesa Luisa Casati.Scot D. Ryersson is an award-winning freelance writer, illustrator, and graphic designer. He lives in New Jersey.Michael Orlando Yaccarino is a freelance writer specializing in international genre film, fashion, music, and unconventional historical figures. He lives in New Jersey."Fascinating. . with or without her cheetahs, the Marchesa Casati’s circus of the self makes her a natural for the new millennium."—Vanity Fair
"A meticulously researched biography, Infinite Variety is as much art history as chronicle of personal obsession."—New York Times
"Ryersson and Yaccarino are judicious historians of frivolity who capture the tone of a life that was obscenely profligate yet strangely pure."—The New Yorker
"Beautifully written . . . Prepare to be astonished."—ELLE
Scot D. Ryersson is an award-winning writer, illustrator, and graphic designer.
Michael Orlando Yaccarino is a freelance writer specializing in international genre film, fashion, music, and unconventional historical figures.
Quentin Crisp (1908–1999) led a long and multifaceted life-from artist’s model and commentator on style and etiquette to writer and theatrical and film performer. He is famous for his autobiography, The Naked Civil Servant.
Francesca Granata is assistant professor of fashion studies at the School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons School of Design, the New School. She is author of Experimental Fashion: Performance Art, Carnival and the Grotesque Body.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781517903718 |
| ISBN 10 | 1517903718 |
| Title | Infinite Variety |
| Author | Scot D Ryersson |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | University of Minnesota Press |
| Year published | 2017-10-24 |
| Number of pages | 296 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |