Léon Bakst (1866–1924) started his artistic career as a magazine illustrator, but it was during his collaborations with the great Russian ballet impressario Serge Diaghilev and the founding of the Ballets Russes that he achieved his greatest successes. As a costume designer for the famed ballet company, Bakst created exotic robes, tunics, harem pants, and other lavish costumes incorporating bold color schemes. This exciting collection, sure to delight colorists and theater fans of all ages, includes 30 of the Asian-inspired designs for which Bakst was famous, among them costumes from The Firebird, Cléopâtre, and Schéhérazade. Captions identify characters and the ballets for which they were designed. Copies of the original designs can be produced by following the artist’s own color schemes, shown on the covers; or, budding artists can select hues from their own palettes to bring these dazzling costumes vividly to life.

Scarce original English-language edition printed in Austria & published in Russia/USSR (commissioned by the renowned Aurora Art based in St. Petersburg), beautifully illustrated throughout on glossy paper. Many subsequent publications on Bakst issued by various American/Western European publishers are based on this very edition.

"A refreshing antidote to the contrived nature of much contemporary interior design, the textiles and decoration of Nathalie Farman-Farma have gained a devoted following among celebrity and socialite clients for their folkloric charm and romantic exuberance. Drawing on the enchantment of fairytales and a history of material culture spanning Persia, Central Asia and Russia, Farman-Farma employs traditional print-making techniques to create exquisitely detailed fabrics, which she uses to conjure interiors infused with warmth and natural charisma. Farman-Farma's townhouse and studio in London and her family homes in Connecticut and Lake Tahoe feature in this captivating volume, forming the backdrop for her Décors Barbares range of fabrics, as well as her vast collection of antique textiles, costumes and jewellery. Vogue has called Farman-Farma "the textile designer you need to know." Her clients include Lauren Santo Domingo, Tory Burch, and influential interior designer David Netto, who writes the foreword to this book"--

Beautifully illustrated and drawing on unpublished images and memorabilia, this book illuminates the ways in which innovations by the Ballets Russes in dance, music, sets and costume both mirrored and invigorated contemporary culture. --Book Jacket.

The Ballets Russes was unmistakably influential in its time, and its impact can still be seen in contemporary set and costume design, music, dance, choreography, and more--and with the 100th anniversary of its formation in 2009, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in today's wide-ranging arts scene.

"This book was published to coincide with the exhibition Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballet Russes 1909-1929 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 25 September 2010-9 January 2011"--Title page verso.

Traces the career of costume designer Leon Baskst from his early years in St Petersburg through to his premature death in 1924.

The Ballets Russes has engaged people for 100 years, ever since Russian-born Sergei Diaghilev created this dynamic avant-garde company. Diaghilev brought together some of the most important visual artists of the 20th century - Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Andr Derain, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Georges Braque, Giorgio de Chirico, Natalia Gonchorova and Mikhail Larionov and more - who worked as costume and stage designers with composers such as Igor Stravinky, choreographers such as Michel Fokine, and dancers such as Vaslav Nijinsky, infusing new life and creative energy into the performing arts of the time. Premiering in Paris, the Ballets Russes, for the brief period of its existence (1909 - 29), created exotic, extravagant, and charming theatrical spectacle but also critical discussion and technical innovation, as well as exuding glamour - and often creating scandal - wherever it appeared. The costumes featured in this book are drawn entirely from the National Gallery of Australia's world-renowned collection of Ballets Russes costumes and ephemera. Through the costumes, drawings, programs and posters, the visual spectacle of the Ballets Russes is brought back into view for a contemporary audience to appreciate the revolution it was and the ongoing influence it continues to have today. This book is a must for anyone interested in the performing arts, the intersection of art and design, and costume and fashion.