Upcoming book explores how Versailles influenced and inspired the fashion world

"Fashion and Versailles" -- published by Flammarion, as part of its "Style & Design" collection -- is a coffee-table book exploring the influence of France's legendary royal residence on fashion, designers and dress codes from the 17th century to the present day. It's due out November 30.

Written by journalist and fashion writer Laurence Benaïm, this coffee-table book pays homage to Versailles as a far-reaching source of inspiration for fashion and designers. The royal residence and its grounds influenced dress codes for centuries, and today remain forever associated with the world of fashion.

In fact, many fashion advertising campaigns are shot in the Versailles palace and its gardens, bearing witness to the importance of Versailles and its influence on the fashion world past and present. Only recently, fashion house Dior used this historical setting for the various facets of its "Secret Garden" campaign, starring Rihanna, as well as Daria Strokous, Fei Fei Sun and Katlin Aas.

Laurence Benaïm also looks at the impact of Versailles on dress codes, from the Louis XV heel to the wigs of Marie-Antoinette and the pregnancy-camouflaging "innocente" dress of Madame de Montespan. Indeed, Versailles has been a constant and inexhaustible source of inspiration for designers, photographers, decorators and directors around the world.

The text by Laurence Benaïm is accompanied by a multitude of archive photos. There are Christian Lacroix sketches from the 1990s, a shot of Doutzen Kroes wearing a dress from the Christian Dior fall/winter 2007-2008 haute couture collection by John Galliano, a Karl Lagerfeld sketch, and photos of pieces from Nicolas Ghesquière's final collection for Louis Vuitton. 

The book is prefaced by Catherine Pégard, president of the public establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles.

Laurence Benaïm, "Versailles and Fashion," published by Flammarion. Out November 30, 2017.