Paris to New York

“A compelling history of the industry from the origins of haute couture to the new realm of fast fashion and luxury business… Business historians will find this transatlantic history of fashion highly stimulating… Tracing the interplay between French and American fashion systems over the course of the twentieth century, with the support of varied sources and powerful figures, this book clearly details the path of the luxury fashion industry as well the dynamics of interaction between design and capitalism.”—Valeria Pinchera, Business History Review

“Traces how fashion design and consumption interacted with global political and economic developments throughout WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII… While this book is firmly rooted in business history, urban historians will nonetheless find insights into how Paris and New York were made into fashion and design capitals… This book gets at some of the more elusive forces behind the fashion industry that differentiate it from other manufacturing sectors, shedding light into the black box of style and design that dictates the volatility of the clothing industry.”—Lauren Laframboise, The Metropole

“A fluidly written and compelling narrative of the business of fashion in the last century… Essential reading for anyone interested in the interrelationship between the French and American fashion industries.”—Caroline Elenowitz–Hess, Journal of Dress History

“Véronique Pouillard has written a fascinating and important book. Her impressive research makes the history of the business come alive.”—Valerie Steele, Director and Chief Curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology

“Rich in its scholarship and highly topical in its conclusions, Paris to New York takes a fresh perspective on the relationship of these key cities in fashion’s modern history. It illustrates that the links between two distinctive and powerful cultures produced a creative and entrepreneurial dynamic that defined how one of the world’s most important industries has developed. As the fashion industry faces further challenges and transformations in the twenty-first century, Pouillard provides a fascinating overview of the structures and practices that have brought us to this point.”—Chris Breward, Director of National Museums Scotland

“Comparisons and connections abound in this important look at the Paris and New York fashion nexus. From Paris’s lead to New York’s growth, from Vionnet’s dresses for the happy few to Dior’s lipstick and YSL’s scarves marketed to a wider ‘crowd,’ Véronique Pouillard astutely explains how design snitching and copyright battles, the right mix of creativity and finance, along with that je ne sais quoi of design form the backstory to the runway and the clothes it venerates.”—Nancy L. Green, author of Ready-to-Wear and Ready-to-Work: A Century of Industry and Immigrants in Paris and New York