Finally, the woman who famously said, “The street makes fashion,” has expanded her wisdom into a book.
Forty years after her self-titled brand agnès b. debuted in 1975, French fashion designer Agnès B. celebrates her life in Paris and the fashion industry in her new book agnès b. STYLISTE. On March 13th, she’ll be doing a talk and book signing at FIAF in Manhattan.
You only need to glance at her resume to know that Agnès B. is a cultural giant, with an influence reaching from fashion and environmental activism to the promotion of the young arts community. Her free online literary magazine Point d’Ironie promotes the work of writers and illustrators, while her art galleries in Paris and New York offer space to young creators to display their work and perform. Ever seen “j’aime la musique” on a t-shirt? That’s an agnès b. shirt, and an Agnès b. way of life! She and her brand sponsor music festivals, up-and-coming indie groups, and concerts at a local café.
In the fashion world, she’s been the ambitious, don’t-take-no-for-an-answer woman the world needs. She left her editing job at Elle to take low-to-no paying design internships. A mere five years after opening her first store in Paris, she opened her first subsidiary in Soho, New York in 1980. It was a visionary move—Soho wasn’t cool yet, and the rest of the fashion world was on 7th avenue. A year later she opened a men’s store in Paris, and three years later she opened a store in Japan. It was Agnès B. who made Harvey Keitel’s famous gangster suit for the 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, and John Travolta and Uma Thurman’s coats for their famous date-turned-dance-sequence in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction.
agnès b. STYLISTE is an entrance into the designer’s world. Sketches, her personal photos and those of famous photographers, and images of her clothes, the book is an annotated, illustrated history with 250 color and black and white images. For a preview of what the book is like, check out her agnès b. …l’histoire! site. According to L’Obs, “above all, the book tells us that style isn’t going out of fashion.”
On stage in the Florence Gould Hall in a conversation with journalist Melissa Ceria, Agnès B. will discuss a range of topics such as her inspirations, her passion for art, and the strong headedness that helped to get her where she is today. The talk will be followed by a question and answer session, and a book signing.
Tickets are $20 for FIAF members, $25 for non-members, and $10 for students with an ID. A special package deal is being offered for $55 to buy a ticket and a copy of the book (available until March 12th). Books will also be sold at the talk for $45. Buy tickets here.
