Inventive, enigmatic, and supremely creative, Stephen Sprouse made art and clothing that captured the mood of the eighties. One of the first American designers to mix graffiti and a punk aesthetic with fashion, Sprouse manipulated conventional notions of style, and his unique sensibility has inspired designers from John Galliano to Raf Simmons to Marc Jacobs. Sprouse s career started in the late seventies, when, after working for Halston, he migrated to a warehouse on the Bowery and started making outfits for his neighbor, Debbie Harry. The fashion world quickly embraced his innovative, culturally relevant sensibility and downtown edge. But Sprouse s inability to compromise his artistic vision for the rigid fashion business compromised his commercial success. The Padilhas possess the largest private collection of Sprouse s work, and were given exclusive access to his archives by his family for this project. They also obtained never-before-published images from photographers such as Steven Meisel, Bob Gruen, and Mert and Marcus. The book features a foreword by the novelist Tama Janowitz, one of Sprouse s closest friends. The release of this book coincides with a retrospective at Deitch Projects. The book will be available with four different jackets, each featuring a different Day-Glo color, an homage to Sprouse s iconic album cover for Debbie Harry s Rockbird.

"...gets the star treatment in Rizzoli's upcoming The Stephen Sprouse Book, providing unfettered access to his work and wild life." ~ELLE

"As the book’s extensive interviews with friends Anna Sui, Iggy Pop and Kate Moss attest, Sprouse was both very much of his time and way ahead of it." ~Black Book

"The volume is as colorful and dynamic as Sprouse's life..." ~Soma Magazine

"...a collectible work of art." ~Nylon

"The Stephen Sprouse Book... gorgeously packages photos, sketches and personal anecdotes from the late icon’s inner circle." ~ModernTonic.com

"This much anticipated book is deeply researched and stunningly illustrated and designed." ~FashionDig.com

"The Padilhas have succeeded in making a book that many people believe was made by Sprouse himself..." ~JCReport.com

"In conjunction with the exhibition, Rizzoli is set to release a book of Sprouse's work by Roger and Mauricio Padilha." ~Paper Magazine

"[the] Padilha[s] profile the late oddity in painstaking depth..." ~Anthem Magazine

Mauricio and Roger Padilha have coauthored a number of Rizzoli titles and are the force behind the powerhouse MAO Public Relations in New York City.