Elsa Schiaparelli: Empress of Paris Fashion by...

Elsa Schiaparelli: Empress of Paris Fashion by Palmer White (Rizzoli, New York: $40).

This coffeetable treasure about an almost-forgotten designer seems perfect for the times. Many of Schiaparelli’s creations--including collaborations with Dali, Cocteau and Dufy--appear as fresh and vibrant today as they did in the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s.

The text by Palmer White--a friend of the designer’s daughter and a former theater and film critic, story editor for MGM and literary editor--is both entertaining and enlightening.

And there’s a great bonus in the foreward by Yves Saint Laurent, who proves he can have almost as much fun with words as he does with fabric.