From time immemorial, magnificent garments have been a major representational medium. They provide information about the social rank and the financial resources of their wearers. An exhibit of royal fashions and their depictions in portraits from the Renaissance to the Rococo offers well-known experts an opportunity to provide a perspective on the interplay of politics, power, and fashion. They trace the (de)formation of the body, examine the quality and care of precious fabrics, and look at early fashion icons such as the English queen Elizabeth I. In his essay, the fashion designer Christian Lacroix furnishes perceptive insight into his very personal encounters with historical fashions. The book’s oversized format, extraordinary design, and atmospheric, detailed photographs allow readers a tour of textiles of ages past. In a separate fashion spread, clothing based on garments in paintings are brought to life and presented in a contemporary setting.

VERONIKA SANDBICHLER (*1967) is an art historian and has been the director of Schloss Ambras since 2010.

KATJA SCHMITZ-VON LEDEBUR (*1967) is an art historian and a curator at the Kaiserlicher Schatzkammer at the Kunstkammer Vienna.

STEFAN ZEISLER (*1971) is the creative director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.