Spanish Fashion in the Age of Velazquez: A Tailor at the Court of Philip IV

Spanish Fashion in the Age of Velázquez is the first archival study of dress at the court of Philip IV, exploring the life and work of royal tailor Mateo Aguado. He designed the iconic dresses that appear in Diego Velázquez's famous court portraits, shaping the royal image and playing a crucial role in domestic and international politics. The book reconstructs long-lost garments and accessories and explores how Aguado's dress designs shaped a new vision of Spanish style and Spanishness.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 13 February 2024
Publisher: Yale University Press

Spanish Fashion in the Age of Velázquez is the first archival study of dress at the court of Philip IV, as told through the life and work of royal tailor Mateo Aguado. Tailor to the queens of Spain from 1630 to 1672, Aguado designed the striking dresses that gave the Spanish court its distinctive look in the Baroque era. The most influential dress designer in the seventeenth-century Spanish world, Aguado was responsible for creating the iconic dresses that appear in some of Diego Velázquezs most famous court portraits.

Based on new research, this book brings to life the world of Aguado and his colleagues at court. The long-lost garments and accessories that the court artisans made for their royal employers are reconstructed here for the first time. Aguados creations played a crucial role in domestic and international politics by shaping the royal image, and his dresses took center-stage in major political events during Philip IVs reign. Richly illustrated with well-known masterpieces along with surviving textiles and garments, the book explores how Aguados dress designs shaped a new vision of Spanish style, and Spanishness, that defined Golden-Age Spain.

Weight: 1370g
Dimension: 226 x 278 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300246544