Tibet style

Tibet Style

Kham and Amdo are two of several provinces comprising the central plateau of traditional Tibet. Its stark, stunning landscapes, fortress-like monasteries on high slopes, and bitterly cold winter climate form the magnificent setting for the extravagant fashions worn by the nomadic tribes that inhabit the region. Their annual festivals provide the pretext for men and women to outrival each other in lavishness with costumes and ornaments passed down from one generation to another. Bearing all the wealth, pride, and honor they have inherited from their ancestors, their finery includes heavy lambskin coats trimmed with fox and leopard fur, silk brocade, and scarlet pulu robes laden with coral and silver jewelry and amulets. Their sophisticated sense of elegance is unrivaled and their special art of freedom and exuberance opens a new dimension on our traditional notions of Tibetan culture.

Dream images of horsemen in fox fur hats, stark and distinctive stuccoed architecture, and prayer flags flapping in the icy wind releasing their orisons to the sky are the backdrop for Hippolyte and Yann Romain's tale of nomadic beauty, where the spiritual and the profane are inseparable, where elegant maidens encounter noble brigands, and where the desire to be unique distinguishes them from the religious universe dominated by the lamas. The intimate photographs in this volume magnificently celebrate Tibet's displaced and endangered civilization of wisdom and beauty.