International Art Books
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"M" as Mila
A Tribute to Mila Schon
Edited By Patrizia Gatti
May 2009
Mondadori Electa, Milan, Italy
Distributed By Trans-Atlantic Publications
ISBN: 9788837068264
352 Pages, 400 Illustrations
$127.50 Hardcover
Born in Dalmatia in 1919, Mila Schön's innate taste and class, and most importantly, firm determination took her into the world of fashion. She began by designing clothes for her friends, the wealthy ladies of the Milanese bourgeoisie.
She opened her first small atelier in 1958 and seven years later, in 1965, made her debut on the prestigious Florentine prêt-à-porter catwalks in the legendary Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti. In 1966 she conquered America, where she received the Neimann Marcus Award, the fashion Oscar, and was then the first Italian fashion designer to arrive in Japan.
Unlike French fashion featuring Dior's corolla forms and Balenciaga's volumetric constructions, Mila Schön's style was dictated by simple, clear-cut lines. She studied new materials and they became her trademark, such as the double face combining two fabrics.
Mila Schön dressed members of the international jet set such as Jacqueline Kennedy and Marella Agnelli. One recurrent theme in all her creations - and that also features in the splendid photographs in this book, most previously unpublished and from the Schön archives and the designer's private collection - is the relationship between artistic research and design: waves, concentric coloured circles and inlays inspired by the work of modern artists such as Mondrian, Calder, Klimt and Pollock.
