A completely original reappraisal of that most familiar, yet mysterious, of things, the female body. In this endlessly provocative volume, Stephen Bayley, design authority and cultural critic, takes on the female body, analyzing each crook and every curve as a sign, a symbol, and as a designed object. From Aphrodite to the industrialization of the breast, and from pin-ups to the future of sex, WOMAN AS DESIGN is a fascinating mix of design, cultural history, erotica, fashion, and fetishism. Wonderfully designed and superbly illustrated WOMAN AS DESIGN is a modern study of the continuous conflict between the real and the ideal...in its most familiar form.