Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen

This volume is the first in more than 15 years to address both historical and contemporary lace from a variety of cultures and geographic areas. Accompanying an exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery in New York that draws from the major lace collection at the Textile Museum in St. Gallen, Switzerland (the town where chemical lace, a.k.a. guipure lace, was created in the early 20th century), the book is written by an international array of fashion historians. The history of lace is charted through its beginnings as handmade lace in 16th- and 17th-century Italy, Spain, and Brussels, through King Louis XVI and the 18th century in France. Because of its expense, lace was worn exclusively by royalty and the wealthy until the development of machine-made lace in the 19th century put it within reach of the middle classes. Lace became even more democratized during the 20th century, when the art of hand-making lace declined and even couture houses sourced their lace from firms such as those that continue to operate in St. Gallen.