Fashion Embroidery - book review

‘Fashion Embroidery’ might seem like a 'just' beautiful coffee table book about Haute couture, but it is more than that. The English book is written by Jessica Pile (the Production Director at Hand & Lock embroidery). It is a hardcover with beautiful photos of Haute couture clothing and embroidery. It is really "Textile Art".

Embroidery is not old-fashioned
Nowadays clothes are like fast food. Preferably fast in terms of trends, very cheap and people just throw it away when they are bored with it. A greater contrast with the clothing shown in this book is almost impossible. The clothing is manually decorated with embroidery, beads or lace and the love for every detail is clearly shown on each page of the book.
Embroidery has never been out of fashion. It is not old-fashioned at all. As a matter of fact, during the lockdown because of the Corona-virus, more people are doing needle-works and we all realize lately clothing has to be more appreciated.

"Fashion Embroidery" is also an instruction book
Most coffee table books are meant for the reader to admire the beautiful photos. However, this book is also a manual and instruction book. Haute couture embroidery is explained step-by-step. From simple initials with monograms to tiny beads that are embroidered on an evening dress. This way you can leave a personal mark on your clothing or on another textile work.
In addition, there are hand-drawn designs, many catwalk photos and detailed photos of the embroideries in Haute couture. Couturiers such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hardy Amies and Burberry are shown.

The devil is in the detail
Do you want to make it even more exclusive than just a cross stitch embroidery? That's possible! Three main techniques are explained through detailed photos and text. Goldwork, tambour beads and embroidery stitches, including silk shading, satin and the trunk stitch. It also discusses the materials you need as aids, because serious embroidery requires more than just a needle and thread.

There is information about fabrics, because you cannot just embroider on every fabric. In the past, embroidery was mainly done with cotton and batiste. Nowadays the range of fabrics is larger, which does not make it easy to choose the right fabric.
Fortunately, Jessica Pile explains all this well, because the principles are important before you start a very labor-intensive job.

A beautiful book, full of inspiration. We love it !