Geoffrey Beene: The Anatomy of His Work

Rating:
Summary: Great photos, but not much biography on Mr. Beene...
Review: As this is one of the few books available on the artistry of Geoffrey Beene, it is both a welcome addition to the world of fashion-photography books and sadly, a very weak treatment of the how-and-why of his work. The photos are oversized and some are gate-folded, but there are not nearly enough to cover the breadth of more than 30 year's design that is Beene's history. He is and always will be apart from many American designers. His is a mixture of the ease/casual feel of sportswear, and at the same time, the epitome of the couturier/dressmaker's craft. Aerodynamic, sleek, modern, iconoclastic are just some of the words used to describe his vision. However, the publisher neglected to go into greater detail as to why Beene is described as such. It would have been helpful to read of his early days working in Paris couture workrooms picking up pins and assisting with the production of toiles. Such is one of the many stories that surround the Beene legend. The quotations from Beene himself are somewhat informative, but someone should write a definitive biography of his life and work in greater detail. A nice book to look at, but not much more.

Rating:
Summary: Great photos, horrible text.
Review: I'm surprised that Booklist calls the text of this book "witty and informative." I found the text to be the major weakness of the book. It's vague, rambling, and completely UNinformative. I didn't learn about Beene's background, education, training, or business. All I got was a lot of fashion-speak garble about his brilliance and genius. The writing is just really, really bad.

The most interesting part of the book is the final section, which is entirely quotes from Beene himself. The photos are lovely, but 120 is too few to give a good overview of Beene's work; he has been designing for 30+ years and must have designed hundreds or even thousands of garments by now. This book shows too few of them.

Overall, this book was disappointing.