The Battle of Versailles - by Mark Bozek (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The first illustrated book to chronicle the dramatic 1973 face-off between French and American fashion designers, which left an indelible mark on the fashion industry, launched American designers as a global force, and challenged the cultural norms of the time. Images from the archives of renowned fashion photojournalists Bill Cunningham and Jean-luce Hurâe--largely unseen until now--capture the behind-the-scenes drama, fabulous clothing, iconic models, and glamorous guests at this historic show. The show pitted French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, Marc Bohan, and Hubert de Givenchy) against their unsung American counterparts (Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Bill Blass, and Anne Klein). With a guest list of 700 notables including Princess Grace, Marie-Hâeláene de Rothschild, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, and Josephine Baker, this celebrated event has become legendary. The French designers built elaborate sets and played classical music during their presentation, while in stark contrast, the American designers used simple sets, played contemporary music, and had eleven black models, unheard of at the time. Ultimately, the Americans and their spirited models stole the show with their youthfully modern approach."--

Book Synopsis

The first illustrated book to chronicle the dramatic 1973 face-off between French and American fashion designers, which left an indelible mark on the fashion industry, launched American designers as a global force, and challenged the cultural norms of the time.

Images from the archives of renowned fashion photojournalists Bill Cunningham and Jean-luce Huré--largely unseen until now--capture the behind-the-scenes drama, fabulous clothing, iconic models, and glamorous guests at this historic show.

The show pitted French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, Marc Bohan, and Hubert de Givenchy) against their unsung American counterparts (Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Bill Blass, and Anne Klein). With a guest list of 700 notables including Princess Grace, Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, and Josephine Baker, this celebrated event has become legendary. The French designers built elaborate sets and played classical music during their presentation, while in stark contrast, the American designers used simple sets, played contemporary music, and had eleven black models, unheard of at the time. Ultimately, the Americans and their spirited models stole the show with their youthfully modern approach.

Photographs before, during, and after the show alongside excerpts from Cunningham's private detailed diary are published here, unedited, for the first time.

Review Quotes

"Mark Bozek pays homage to the face-off between American and French fashion with an illustrated book, retracing what went down through photographs by Jean-Luce Huré and Bill Cunningham, capturing the drama, the backstage moments, and never-before-seen highlights of the evening. With a foreword by Liza Minnelli, an introduction by Pat Cleveland, and afterwords by Diet Prada, this book offers a unique and fresh perspective on the event from a photographic point of view." -- MUSEE MAGAZINE

"Mark Bozek's tome offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on the book's titular battle: A face-off between French and American fashion designers at the Palace of Versailles in 1973. He presents the epic showdown through a visual time capsule of the event's parading models, starry guests and competing collections, with photographs by Jean-Luce Huré and Bill Cunningham of The New York Times." -- THE NY TIMES

"What began as a restoration fundraiser for the palace turned into a cultural-shifting event that left an indelible mark on the fashion industry, launched American designers as a global force and challenged the industry norms of the time. The book also features unedited excerpts from Cunningham's private detailed diary." -- STYLEZEITGEIST MAGAZINE

"...chronicles the dramatic 1973 runway face-off between French designers (Marc Bohan, Pierre Cardin, Hubert de Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and Emanuel Ungaro) and their American counterparts (Bill Blass, Stephen Burrows, Oscar de la Renta, Halston and Anne Klein) and is illustrated with largely unseen images from the archives of the fashion photojournalists Bill Cunningham and Jean-Luce Huré." -- THE NY TIMES

"51 years ago, within the storied walls of the Chateau de Versailles, five French designers took on five American designers in a monumental charity fashion show remembered as "The Battle of Versailles." Rizzoli's new publication The Battle of Versailles The Fashion Showdown of 1973, authored by Mark Bozek, offers novel insight into the significance of the occasion with never-before-seen photographs from Bill Cunningham and Jean-Luce Huré, accompanied by excerpts from Cunningham's diary entries of the time." -- ANOTHER MAGAZINE

About the Author

Mark Bozek is the founder/CEO of Live Rocket, producer/director of the film The Times of Bill Cunningham. Liza Minnelli is an actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Pat Cleveland is one of the first African-American models to achieve prominence on the runway and in print. Diet Prada is an Instagram account founded by Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler.