The Rose in Fashion: Ravishing, Amy de la Haye

The Rose in Fashion: Ravishing is an arresting and sumptuous exploration of how the rose—one of nature’s most potent symbols—has shaped our sartorial dreams, desires, and ideals across centuries and cultures. Curated in association with the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, the book weaves together fashion through time—from 18th-century silk brocades to Alexander McQueen’s sculptural rose motifs, and onto gender-neutral trends of the modern catwalk.

With 228 colour plates accompanied by 38 black-and-white illustrations and a dazzling contribution from photographer Nick Knight, the volume brings together clothing, millinery, jewellery, perfume, and both real and artificial roses. It gracefully unpacks themes of love and beauty, sin and transgression, rebirth and mortality—demonstrating the rose’s dual nature: both cultivated charm and savage symbolism.

About the Author
Professor Amy de la Haye is a leading historian of dress and curatorship at the London College of Fashion, and co-director of the Centre for Fashion Curation at UAL. Her scholarship, known for combining cultural commentary with archival depth, illuminates how symbols like the rose carry meaning in both fabric and fashion.

Publication date: 2020
Publisher: Yale University Press
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9780300250084