Fashion & Beauty

The Stephen Sprouse Book

Inventive, enigmatic, and supremely creative, Stephen Sprouse made art and clothing that captured the mood of the eighties. One of the first American designers to mix graffiti and a punk aesthetic with fashion, Sprouse manipulated conventional notions of style, and his unique sensibility has inspired designers from John Galliano to Raf Simmons to Marc Jacobs. Sprouse’s career started in the late seventies, when, after working for Halston, he migrated to a warehouse on the Bowery and started making outfits for his neighbor, Debbie Harry. The fashion world quickly embraced his innovative, culturally relevant sensibility and downtown edge. But Sprouse’s inability to compromise his artistic vision for the rigid fashion business compromised his commercial success. The Padilhas possess the largest private collection of Sprouse’s work, and were given exclusive access to his archives by his family for this project. They also obtained never-before-published images from photographers such as Steven Meisel, Bob Gruen, and Mert and Marcus. The book features a foreword by the novelist Tama Janowitz, one of Sprouse’s closest friends. The release of this book coincides with a retrospective at Deitch Projects. The book will have four different jackets, each featuring a different Day-Glo color, these will be shipped at random.  These colors are an homage to Sprouse’s iconic album cover for Debbie Harry’s Rockbird.

About The Author

Mauricio Padilha and Roger Padilha run MAO Public Relations, MAO SPACE, a series of runway shows that coincide with New York Fashion Week, and publish MAO MAG, a bi-annual fashion magazine. Tama Janowitz is the author of seven novels, including Slaves of New York.

  • Publish Date: January 13, 2009
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Photography - Subjects & Themes - Fashion
  • Publisher: Rizzoli
  • Trim Size: 10 x 11
  • Pages: 256
  • US Price: $65.00
  • CDN Price: $75.00
  • ISBN: 978-0-8478-3216-3

Reviews

"...gets the star treatment in Rizzoli's upcoming The Stephen Sprouse Book, providing unfettered access to his work and wild life." ~ELLE

"As the book’s extensive interviews with friends Anna Sui, Iggy Pop and Kate Moss attest, Sprouse was both very much of his time and way ahead of it." ~Black Book

"The volume is as colorful and dynamic as Sprouse's life..." ~Soma Magazine

"...a collectible work of art." ~Nylon

"The Stephen Sprouse Book
... gorgeously packages photos, sketches and personal anecdotes from the late icon’s inner circle." ~ModernTonic.com

"This much anticipated book is deeply researched and stunningly illustrated and designed." ~FashionDig.com

"The Padilhas have succeeded in making a book that many people believe was made by Sprouse himself..." ~JCReport.com

"In conjunction with the exhibition, Rizzoli is set to release a book of Sprouse's work by Roger and Mauricio Padilha." ~Paper Magazine

"[the] Padilha[s] profile the late oddity in painstaking depth..." ~Anthem Magazine



Author Bookshelf: Roger Padilha, Mauricio Padilha