In an exclusive excerpt from her new book, The Battle of Versailles, Robin Givhan chronicles the most glamorous night in fashion history—one that put American designers, once and for all, on the map.
Halston’s segment of the show. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
The audience. Photograph by Daniel SIMON/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.
De Rothschild and Grace Kelly. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Stephen Burrows’s multihued dresses. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Gloria Guinness and Andre Oliver at the de Redé party. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Oscar de la Renta, Françoise de la Renta, and a guest. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Andy Warhol during the show. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Josephine Baker. Photograph by Daniel SIMON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.
Burrows and a guest. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, dressed in a yellow feather-trimmed gown, and friends at the fashion show. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Liza Minnelli performing for the American designers at the Grand Divertissement à Versailles. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Model Barbara Jackson in Stephen Burrows. Photograph by Daniel SIMON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.
Guests at Maxim’s. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
A guest, Elsa Peretti, Halston, and Marisa Berenson celebrate the Battle of Versailles. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
Rudolf Nureyev with a dancer, performing for the French segment. Photograph by Daniel SIMON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.
Yves Saint Laurent at a pre-party at Maxim’s held by Baron Alexis de Redé. Photograph by Reginald Gray/WWD.
