From Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Coco Chanel to Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood, a century’s worth of fashion greats from the permanent collection of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City are celebrated in this fresh edition of Fashion Designers A–Z.

This accessibly priced and updated collection features photographs of approximately 500 garments selected from the Museum’s permanent collection. From an exquisitely embroidered velvet evening gown to Mondrian-style minimalist chic, each chosen piece is selected not only for its beauty but for its representative value, distilling the unique philosophy and aesthetics of each of the featured designers.

Texts by the museum’s curators explain why each designer is important in fashion history and what is special about the garments featured, complemented by 110 drawn portraits by Robert Nippoldt. In her introductory essay, director and chief curator Valerie Steele writes about the rise of the fashion museum, and the emergence of the fashion exhibition as a popular and controversial phenomenon.