Southampton - "David Hicks: A Life of Design" is a vibrantly illustrated and beautifully written celebration of the life and career of one of the most influential interior designers of the latter half of the 20th century, famous for his 1960s "jet-set chic" designs.

Published by Rizzoli International Publications (2009) this 298-page book written by Hicks' son, Ashley Hicks, is a loving, honest and insightfully written and illustrated testament to the private and public Hicks, whose use of mixed, bold color combinations intermingled with abstract paintings, antiques and modern furniture brought him to the attention of a myriad of high society clients. Hicks was thought by many to be an English decorator who repelled the English school of decorating.

A new book by Ashley Hicks chronicles the life of his father, interior designer, David Hicks. Image courtesy of Rizzoli Publishers

His son's access to the family archives - private photos, journals and scrapbooks - as well as his obvious research chronicles the life, taste and style of a man who "Turned English decorating on its head in the 1950s and 1960s." Married to Lady Pamela Mountbatten (daughter of the last Viceroy of India), Hicks was received and respected in the homes of some of the world's most influential taste and trendsetters.

Having designed the interior rooms in the homes of, among others, Mrs. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Helena Rubinstein, Vidal Sassoon, as well as a yacht for King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and a nightclub on the QE2, Hicks first and foremost expressed his interior design sensibilities in his own numerous homes (and gardens) over the decades. He also designed the sets for the 1968 Julie Christie film ''Petulia.''

According to the publisher, "His creativity and innovation easily carried him through to the 1970s, when he became a brand unto himself, producing wallpaper, fabrics and linens which were distributed internationally, including in the U.S. where his wallpaper was used in the White House during the Nixon administration." Hicks was also a business partner with decorator Mark Hampton during the latter part of his career.

Hicks (1929-1998) wrote himself that ''My greatest contribution as an interior designer has been to show people how to use bold color mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms and how to mix old with new.''

His son, a highly regarded furniture, fabric and interior designer himself, has brought to the page in words, photos and illustrations the unique complexities tracing the talents, skills and brilliance of man, father, husband, friend and, most evident, a designer whose contributions will not soon be forgotten.

This is a heartfelt, candid and personal glimpse into a life and career that perhaps only someone as sensitive or as close as one's child could have compiled and written, and for that Ashley Hicks has certainly given his father - and his father's admirers - a wonderful gift.