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Gods and Kings
- The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Sastre
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Entertainment & Celebrities
Publisher's Summary
In February 2011 John Galliano, the lauded head of Christian Dior, imploded with a drunken, anti-Semitic public tirade. Exactly a year earlier, celebrated designer Alexander McQueen took his own life three weeks before his women's wear show. Both were casualties of the war between art and commerce that has raged within fashion for the last two decades.
In the mid-1990s, Galliano and McQueen arrived on the fashion scene when the business was in an artistic and economic rut. They shook the establishment out of its bourgeois, minimalist stupor with daring, sexy designs and theatrical fashion shows. They had similar backgrounds: sensitive, shy gay men raised in tough London neighborhoods, their love of fashion nurtured by their doting mothers. By 1997 both had landed jobs as creative directors for couture houses owned by French tycoon Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH.
Galliano's and McQueen's work not only influenced fashion; their distinct styles were reflected across the media landscape. With their help luxury fashion evolved from a clutch of small, family-owned businesses into a $280 billion-a-year global corporate industry. Executives pushed the designers to meet increasingly rapid deadlines. For both Galliano and McQueen, the pace was unsustainable.
The same week that Galliano was fired, Forbes named Arnault the fourth richest man in the world. Two months later, in the wake of McQueen's death, Kate Middleton wore a McQueen wedding gown, instantly making the house the world's most famous fashion brand, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened a wildly successful McQueen retrospective, cosponsored by the corporate owners of the McQueen brand. The corporations had won, and the artists had lost.
In her groundbreaking work Gods and Kings, acclaimed journalist Dana Thomas tells the true story of McQueen and Galliano. In so doing she reveals the relentless world of couture.
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What listeners say about Gods and Kings
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- Derek L.
- 2020-12-07
Biographies but make it FASHUN!!!
The book that got be obsessed about Alexander McQueen and such an intimate storytelling of two of Fashion's Greats, vivid details, elaborately written, well paced and engaging. I personally love listening to this while shopping at a Holt Renfrew and touching an Alexander McQueen piece. Highly recommend!!!!
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- Kindle Customer
- 2020-07-31
Fantastic
I loved the narration, overall was very interesting especially about McQueen. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
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- kpaige
- 2015-04-15
Captivating
This book provided so much insight into the stressful and shallow yet fantastical realm of contemporary fashion. I was compelled to binge-listen. Any fans of fashion or art history would enjoy this without question.
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- CreativeGuy
- 2015-06-18
Loved it from beginning to end!
Dana did a Great job giving great detail and passion. So clever to choose these two men for this Book.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-12-20
Loved everything about this book .
Well written, extremely well read I couldn’t it the book down. I plan to read it a second time. Highly recommend!
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- The Companion
- 2019-04-09
Fascinating
An extraordinary story about art, commerce, talent and the shadow. Very much enjoyed the narration as well.
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- Caryn Sapeli
- 2018-04-05
Haunting and inspiring
Well written history with deft contrast and comparison of two fashion legends. An engaging story which left me inspired by the designers brilliant creativity amidst the fashion world’s rapidly shifting focus from fashion as art and culture to fashion is business and commercial. The sadness of McQueen’s inner pain and untimely demise mirrors the author’s sorrow at the sheer capitalization of fashion, perhaps at the expense of creating innovative, wearable art.
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- Kindle Customer
- 2018-03-10
Important story told well!
I read this right after 'the beautiful fall' and it was so appropriate! I'm glad I went audio because her pronunciation of French and Italian phrases was beautiful!
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- Amazon Customer
- 2017-09-14
i really enjoyed this book.
very interesting to listen to the contrasting upbringings of each designer and their evolving collections. great read, even greater listen. although, by the end of it, you will want to describe every detail of your day in a british accent.
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- Chyrsten
- 2017-06-12
Amazingly insightful! loved this great book!
This book goes into great detail on two talented designers. The author gives insight into their lives and how they fell from grace
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- Vahlen
- 2016-03-21
This Book is EVERYTHING
I work in fashion and these two are geniuses. I thoroughly enjoyed this from beginning to end. I cannot stop thinking about it. I even enjoyed the narration. Loved it.
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- Maja Wiggins
- 2016-02-11
Written and narrative journey
Ms.Thomas takes us on long journey and we are not getting lost, bored, disoriented or confused. Story line is carefully navigated with accurate events and details.Ms. Sastre narrated book beautifully, with passion, pronouncing names correctly in different languages. I think it was a labor of love for Ms. Thomas to deliver this book. I enjoy her writing so much, even more when it's narrated so well. Listening to the book ,gives me space to look up everything and follow by adding a picture to description. Wonderful. What a journey.