Creating an overview of how the dress evolved and its impact on the fashion industry, the authors pay homage to the experimental, the beautiful, and the innovative, showing how a dress can encapsulate a designer's vision and can often act as the key piece within a collection.

With stunning photographs of 1,000 covetable dresses, this gorgeous pictorial collection is an unparalleled source of creative inspiration and a mine of information for students, designers and all fashionistas

Use this book to discover myriad design possibilities as a springboard for your own dress ideas - or revel in the beauty and craftsmanship on show.

. Fabulously illustrated with catwalk photographs, analysed to pinpoint the desirable features of each dress.

. Directory of dress styles, featuring historical precedents; illustrations of versions of the shape to demonstrate how it can be interpreted, with technical details; designer notes explaining what should be borne in mind when embarking on this style; and simple sketches of alternative design possibilities.

. Brilliantly organized and easy-to-navigate content is ordered into colour-coded chapters by dress shape.