Book excerpt: One of the most beautiful and comprehensive sourcebooks of fabric swatches from every key designer of the last century This exhaustive sourcebook book presents the most eye-catching and important pieces from an array of more than 100 of the world’s fashion designers. Covering both contemporary and classic designs—from historic houses such as Sophie Hallette, masters of lace, to the edgiest work by Christopher Kane and Giles Deacon—it sets a new benchmark in the world of fabric design. Alphabetically arranged by designer, around 1,300 images illustrate the huge variety of swatches. Marnie Fogg introduces each fashion house and guides the reader through their particular approach to textile design and production. These include the great fabric designers of our time: Barbour, Bruce Oldfield, Marimekko, Paul Smith, Basso & Brooke, Mary Katrantzou, Christopher Kane, Sonia Rykiel, Ann Louise Roswald, Tata Naka, Eley Kishimoto, Hussein Chalayan, and others. With unprecedented access behind the scenes of some of the most important manufacturers, the final section of the book displays informative step-by-step photographs of the working techniques behind both modern and classic fabric manufacturing.