Claude Montana's eponymous, and infamous, brand went bankrupt at either exactly the right time or wrong time - the late 90s - before google, before animated gifs, and before blogs. As the world of high fashion entered the 21st century haute couture became saturated and the glamour died as the gilded lid of exclusivity and luxury was peeled slowly away. Famous designers at their zenith became zealously celebrated, and with the tsunami of the blogosphere designers became objects of only a post-modern, digital obsession. Claude Montana, whose career is now being celebrated with a new book, dominated the fashion scene in the 80s and 90s, and now serves as inspiration to many of this century's designers. www.thamesandhudson.com