Whether you’re interested in a designer’s rise to fame and the fashion industry there’s a book out there for the taking. Now is the best time to crack open a few of the must-read fashion books you’ve been eyeing for a while.
Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style by Jerome Gautier
A luxurious book that showcases the spirit and essence of Chanel’s iconic style through the medium of fashion photography. Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971) was undoubtedly the most influential fashion designer of the 20th century. Her clothes and accessories have remained perennially chic, and her legendary fashion house continues to exert a powerful sway over today’s designers.
House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara G Forden
Named one of the best books of the year by the Economist, House Of Gucci tells the remarkable story of the power of the Gucci Dynasty and their famed luxury goods house. While the business was achieving unprecedented success, the family found itself shrouded in personal tragedy.
The Beautiful Fall by Alicia Drake
In the 1970s, Paris fashion exploded like a champagne bottle left out in the sun. Amid sequins and longing, celebrities and aspirants flocked to the heart of chic, and Paris became a hothouse of revelry, intrigue, and searing ambition. At the center of it all were fashion’s most beloved luminaries – Yves Saint Laurent, the reclusive enfant terrible, and Karl Lagerfeld, the flamboyant freelancer with a talent for reinvention – and they divided Paris into two fabulous halves.
Little Book of Dior by Karen Homer
Recounting Christian Dior’s early life, the brand’s inception, the triumphs of the couture collections on the catwalk and the red carpet, and the fashion house’s evolution under Christian Dior’s creative direction successors – Little Book of Dior is a stylish gift for any lover of fashion.
D.V. by Diana Vreeland
D.V. is the mesmerizing autobiography of one of the 20th century’s greatest fashion icons, Diana Vreeland, the one-time fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue, whose incomparable style-sense, genius, and flair helped define the world of haute couture for fifty years.
Alexander McQueen by Claire Wilcox
Fashion is a big bubble, and sometimes I feel like popping it.’ Alexander McQueen, 2009 This definitive publication on Alexander McQueen (1969 – 2010) invites you into the creative mind and world of one of Britain’s most brilliant, daring and provocative designers, and the many themes and references that shaped his visionary fashion collections.
Champagne Supernovas: Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and the ’90s Renegades Who Remade Fashion by Maureen Callahan R.D.
Veteran pop culture journalist Maureen Callahan takes us back to the pivotal style moment of the early 1990s–when supermodel glamazons gave way to heroin chic, when the alternative became the mainstream, and when fashion suddenly became the cradle for the most exciting artistic and cultural innovations of the age.
Tom Ford by Tom Ford
This book is a complete catalogue of Ford’s design work for both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent from 1994 to 2004. It chronicles not only Ford’s clothing and accessories designs for both houses, but also explores Ford’s grand vision for the complete design of a brand, including architecture, store design, and advertising.
Coco Chanel: The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon by Megan Hess
Coco Chanel is a compilation of Megan Hess’ stunning illustrations of the 100 most quintessential moments through Chanel’s history, from Coco’s incredible life, to the impact of Karl Lagerfeld as creative director of the brand. Interspersed with historical anecdotes and famous quotes from Coco herself, Karl Lagerfeld and other key fashion icons of the era, this book is an elegant and immersive introduction to the moments that shaped Coco and the iconic Chanel brand – and how fashion, in turn, shaped their lives.
Little Book of Prada by Graves Laia Farran Graves
Little Book of Prada explores the evolutions and innovations of the brand, as well as a design ethos informed by an interest in minimalism and contemporary art. Images of individual garments, catwalk shots and fashion photography pay tribute to one of the world’s most influential fashion houses and the woman behind it, in a perfectly designed and stylish format that makes a perfect gift for any lover of fashion.
