The Art of Couture Embroidery: The Secrets of Runway Design. Jessica Pile and Robert Ossant

The Art of Couture Embroidery is a sumptuous unveiling of what lies behind couture’s shimmer — not just fabric, but the hand-stitched dialogue between cloth, thread and human intention. The book pulls back the curtain on some of the most iconic runway garments of the last four decades, showing how embroidery transforms a cut of fabric into a work of art: stitch by stitch, bead by bead, under the light of design ambition and skilled craftsmanship.

With each chapter dedicated to a different leading designer or fashion house, Pile and Ossant choose one defining embroidered piece and trace its story: the atelier that conceived it, the artisans who executed it, the techniques used, and the interplay of couture construction with ornamental embroidery. Whether you are a maker, a fashion student, or a textile-lover inclined to slow-seeing, the book reads like a map of contemporary embroidery’s peak — where technique meets glamour, detail meets discipline, and cloth becomes spectacle without losing its intimacy.

More than a “coffee-table panorama,” the book offers practical insight: glimpses into technique, process and method that demystify couture embroidery — an invitation to learn, replicate, re-imagine. For readers drawn to materiality, line, texture and the invisible labour behind beauty, it becomes a manifesto of craft in the world of high fashion.

About the Author
Jessica Pile is a renowned embroidery expert whose hands and vision have shaped iconic catwalk embroideries for houses such as Vivienne Westwood, Louis Vuitton, Mary Katrantzou and Burberry. She spent twelve years at the helm of the famed embroidery atelier Hand & Lock, and in 2024 founded her own bespoke embroidery studio, Norica Studios.

Robert Ossant is an art and fashion historian specialising in textile arts, embroidery and cultural history. He has written for many of the world's leading fashion houses, offering critical insights into how embroidery, pattern, and material culture intersect with the aesthetic and commercial demands of couture.

Publication date: 2025
Publisher: Batsford
Pages: 144
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781849949682