28 Best 「fashion designer」 Books of 2024| Books Explorer

In this article, we will rank the recommended books for fashion designer. The list is compiled and ranked by our own score based on reviews and reputation on the Internet.
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Table of Contents
  1. The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History
  2. The Fashion Design Reference & Specification Book: Everything Fashion Designers Need to Know Every Day
  3. The Language of Fashion Design: 26 Principles Every Fashion Designer Should Know
  4. The Asylum: True Tales of Madness from a Life in Fashion
  5. Modesty: A Fashion Paradox: Uncovering the Causes, Controversies and Key Players Behind the Global Trend to Conceal Rather Than Reveal
  6. The Art of Zandra Rhodes
  7. Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
  8. Color: How to Use It (Fashion Series)
  9. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
  10. Draping: The Complete Course
Other 18 books
No.1
100

A Sunday Times (UK) Book of the YearShortlisted • Society of Authors' Somerset Maugham AwardA BBC Radio 4 Book of the WeekThe best-selling author of The Secret Lives of Color returns with this rollicking narrative of the 30,000-year history of fabric, briskly told through thirteen charismatic episodes.From colorful 30,000-year-old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to the Indian calicoes that sparked the Industrial Revolution, The Golden Thread weaves an illuminating story of human ingenuity. Design journalist Kassia St. Clair guides us through the technological advancements and cultural customs that would redefi ne human civilization―from the fabric that allowed mankind to achieve extraordinary things (traverse the oceans and shatter athletic records) and survive in unlikely places (outer space and the South Pole). She peoples her story with a motley cast of characters, including Xiling, the ancient Chinese empress credited with inventing silk, to Richard the Lionhearted and Bing Crosby. Offering insights into the economic and social dimensions of clothmaking―and countering the enduring, often demeaning, association of textiles as “merely women’s work”―The Golden Thread offers an alternative guide to our past, present, and future. 8 pages of color photographs

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No.2
100

An essential primer for students and first-stop reference for professionals, The Fashion Design Reference & Specification Book takes the fashion designer through the entire design process, from conceiving a garment to marketing it.\nThis valuable handbook contains the information and ideas essential to planning and executing fashion projects of every scale and distills them in an easy-to-use format that is compact enough to slip into a tote. Linking six central phases in the cycle of fashion—research, editing, design, construction, connection, and evolution—The Fashion Design Reference & Specification Book helps designers develop effective strategies for building a cohesive collection and communicating their vision.

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No.3
88

Learning a new discipline is similar to learning a new language; in order to master the foundation of fashion design, you must first master the basic building blocks of its language - the definitions, function, and usage. The Language of Fashion Design provides students and fashion designers with the basic elements of fashion design, divided into twenty-six easy-to-comprehend chapters. This visual reference includes an introductory, historical view of the elements, as well as an overview of how these elements can and have been used across multiple design disciplines. Whether you're new to the field or have been a fashion designer for years, you'll want to flip through the pages of this book throughout your career and use it as the go-to reference for inspiration, ideas, and reminders of how a strong knowledge of the basics allows for meaningful, memorable, and beautiful fashion that extends beyond trends. This comprehensive learning tool is the one book you'll want as a staple in your library.

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No.4
88

After nearly a lifetime spent in the Industry, author and fashion insider Simon Doonan is ready to let you in on a little secret: his peers in this multibillion-dollar industry are just as nutty as the denizens of your local loony bin. In The Asylum, an unabashedly hilarious memoir-in-essays, Doonan, the creative ambassador for Barneys New York, tells the real-life stories of glamorous madness and stylish insanity.Doonan has seen it all: from dealing with models unable to work for fear of ghosts, to deep-sea fishing with a couturier pal and his jailbird companion, to watching Anna Wintour remain perfectly calm while the ceiling fell—literally—in the middle of Fashion Week. The outlandish family Doonan knew as a child has given way to alarmingly similar lunatic peers in the fashion world: style insiders see patterns and trends in everything; they suffer from outsize personality disorders and delusions of grandeur; and, of course, they have a predilection for theatrical makeup and artfully destroyed clothing. No one is more suited to the asylum than the truly die-hard fashionista—after all, eccentricity and extremism are the foundations of great style.Hailed as “a must-read for fashionistas and non-fashionistas alike,” (Michael Kors) and “raucous and revelatory” (Booklist), Doonan’s critically acclaimed collection gives us the scoop on the kooky, cutthroat—but always fabulous—fashion world, and proves the author to be one of the sharpest humorists writing today.

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No.5
83

AS SEEN IN Vogue Arabia, Harper’s Bazaar, Stylist, Glamour, Publishers Weekly, Foreword Reviews, Booklist & MORE.A Harpers Bazaar Essential Fashion BookA fashion journalist unzips the revolution, influence, and controversy of the modest fashion movement.Muslim-American fashion journalist Hafsa Lodi has witnessed first-hand how the modest fashion industry has evolved from a niche segment to a powerful force that boasts a multibillion-dollar market value on the world stage. Whether they're influenced by the feminist nuances of modesty, abide by religious dress norms, or keep up with the latest social media trends, modest fashion is profoundly popular.Lodi unpacks how designer brands like Gucci have popularized conservative attire and layering as the pinnacle of chic, and high-street brands like H&M and Mango have followed. She strips back the modest fashion movement to expose its true disruptors: the faith-centric fashion labels. Bolstered by a burgeoning community of Muslim, Jewish and Christian fashion influencers, they're at the forefront of this global surge.Speaking to both the fashion industry and its consumers, Lodi explores the nuances and narratives of this fascinating movement and asks the burning question: In a world where fashion becomes a spectacle and seeks constant attention, can it ever be truly modest?

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No.6
83

The originality and genius of Zandra Rhodes is recognised around the world, and it is sights and impressions from around the world which have so often stimulated her Art. From the aerial view of a Mexican sombrero to the wiggle of the Great Wall of China, images have met her eye and been interpreted through her own intensely personal vision, boldly making their way into the highest realms of fashion. In looking back over sixteen celebrated years of printing and designing she has been intrigued by the quixotic way in which her themes have related to journeys of various kinds and, in resolving to chart these, she has aimed at pinning down the creative process itself, in order to share it with others.Her 'departure point' on this Fashion Odyssey was the realisation that she and her textile designs (which she had already, unconventionally, physically printed onto the fabric herself) had too strong a personality to fit into other designers' fashions. So she made clothes the way she wanted them to be, letting the textiles influence the garment shapes - creating prints, printing, designing clothes, patternmaking, cutting out dresses and hand-rolling edges all herself. She still works fourteen hours a day, seven days a week.

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No.7
81

More than two decades ago, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen arrived on the fashions scene when the business was in an artistic and economic rut. Both wanted to revolutionize fashion in a way no one had in decades. They shook the establishment out of its bourgeois, minimalist stupor with daring, sexy designs. They turned out landmark collections in mesmerizing, theatrical shows that retailers and critics still gush about and designers continue to reference.Their approach to fashion was wildly different—Galliano began as an illustrator, McQueen as a Savile Row tailor. Galliano led the way with his sensual bias-cut gowns and his voluptuous hourglass tailoring, which he presented in romantic storybook-like settings. McQueen, though nearly ten years younger than Galliano, was a brilliant technician and a visionary artist who brought a new reality to fashion, as well as an otherworldly beauty. For his first official collection at the tender age of twenty-three, McQueen did what few in fashion ever achieve: he invented a new silhouette, the Bumster.They had similar backgrounds: sensitive, shy gay men raised in tough London neighborhoods, their love of fashion nurtured by their doting mothers. Both struggled to get their businesses off the ground, despite early critical success. But by 1997, each had landed a job as creative director for couture houses owned by French tycoon Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH.Galliano’s and McQueen’s work for Dior and Givenchy and beyond not only influenced fashion; their distinct styles were also reflected across the media landscape. With their help, luxury fashion evolved from a clutch of small, family-owned businesses into a $280 billion-a-year global corporate industry. Executives pushed the designers to meet increasingly rapid deadlines. For both Galliano and McQueen, the pace was unsustainable. In 2010, McQueen took his own life three weeks before his womens' wear show.The same week that Galliano was fired, Forbes named Arnault the fourth richest man in the world. Two months later, Kate Middleton wore a McQueen wedding gown, instantly making the house the world’s most famous fashion brand, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened a wildly successful McQueen retrospective, cosponsored by the corporate owners of the McQueen brand. The corporations had won and the artists had lost.In her groundbreaking work Gods and Kings, acclaimed journalist Dana Thomas tells the true story of McQueen and Galliano. In so doing, she reveals the revolution in high fashion in the last two decades—and the price it demanded of the very ones who saved it.

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No.8
80

For courses in art and design foundations, interior design, fashion design, merchandising, graphic and communications design, and design marketing. The first color theory textbook ever! An in-depth look at color and how we perceive it. Color: How to Use It is the first in-depth color theory textbook that examines color interactions and how they can be manipulated in art and design. It is the first textbook on color theory that thoroughly explores color relationships and the compositional elements that completely change how we perceive color. It is the only textbook that is targeted toward the color theory student, with in-depth explanations of all elements of 2-D compositions, lessons designed to build skills, exercises, and a teacher’s manual with objectives and assessment guides for each exercise in every chapter. Color: How to Use It makes learning color theory easier than ever. Organized in a clear and concise fashion, this book explains color theory through a gradual process. Chapters examine the history of color, color theory, the definitions of terms, color relationships, and the more complex interactions that come about from the elements of composition. The text aims to help readers (1) learn to see color, color relationships, and elements of composition that affect the perception of color; (2) understand how altering just one color or compositional element will change the dynamics of a composition; and (3) gain skills in using color and composition to their greatest potential in 2-D design. Each chapter offers another piece of the compositional puzzle. Graphic illustrations, fine art, and photographs clarify how the chapter concepts affect color usage.

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No.9
80

In this instant and tenacious New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh” (Booklist, starred review), illuminating his company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.Bill Gates named Shoe Dog one of his five favorite books of the year and called it “an amazing tale, a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like. It’s a messy, perilous, and chaotic journey, riddled with mistakes, endless struggles, and sacrifice. Phil Knight opens up in ways few CEOs are willing to do.”Fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his car in 1963, Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight’s Nike is the gold standard, and its swoosh is one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world.But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always been a mystery. In Shoe Dog, he tells his story at last. At twenty-four, Knight decides that rather than work for a big corporation, he will create something all his own, new, dynamic, different. He details the many risks he encountered, the crushing setbacks, the ruthless competitors and hostile bankers—as well as his many thrilling triumphs. Above all, he recalls the relationships that formed the heart and soul of Nike, with his former track coach, the irascible and charismatic Bill Bowerman, and with his first employees, a ragtag group of misfits and savants who quickly became a band of swoosh-crazed brothers.Together, harnessing the electrifying power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the transformative power of sports, they created a brand—and a culture—that changed everything.

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No.10
79

Draping: The Complete Course

Kiisel, Karolyn
Laurence King Publishing

Draping is the art of using cotton muslin to create a fashion design directly on a mannequin. It is an essential skill for fashion designers. In this book, Karolyn Kiisel presents a series of step-by-step projects, creating real garments in classic styles, that are designed to develop skills from the most basic to more advanced techniques.Starting with the basics of choosing and preparing the dress form for draping, the book advances through pinning, trimming, and clipping, and creating shape using darts and tucks, to adding volume using pleats and gathers, and handling complex curves. Advanced skills include how to use support elements such as shoulder pads, under layers, and petticoats, and how to handle bias draping. The book culminates with a chapter on improvisational skills.Each skill and technique throughout the book is explained through specially commissioned step-bystep photographs and line drawings that bring the art of creating womenswear in three dimensions to life.

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No.11
79

“Overdressed does for T-shirts and leggings what Fast Food Nation did for burgers and fries.”—Katha PollittCheap fashion has fundamentally changed the way most Americans dress. Stores ranging from discounters like Target to traditional chains like JCPenney now offer the newest trends at unprecedentedly low prices. And we have little reason to keep wearing and repairing the clothes we already own when styles change so fast and it’s cheaper to just buy more.Cline sets out to uncover the true nature of the cheap fashion juggernaut. What are we doing with all these cheap clothes? And more important, what are they doing to us, our society, our environment, and our economic well-being?

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No.12
79

An exciting account of the international adventures of fashion model Pat Cleveland—one of the first black supermodels during the wild sixties and seventies.“Taking her reader through fifty years of fashion from the intersection of the Civil Rights Movement, the disco era's decadence, and the grandeur of Hollywood’s late 70s renaissance, Cleveland provides a glimpse at some of design’s most important moments—and her own personal history.” —Vogue“Pat Cleveland is to fashion what Billie Holiday is to the blues; a muse for all ages.” —EssenceChronicling of the glamorous life and adventures of Pat Cleveland—one of the first black supermodels—this compelling memoir evokes the bohemian lifestyle and creative zeitgeist of 1970s New York City and features some of today’s most prominent names in fashion, art, and entertainment as they were just gaining their creative footage.New York in the sixties and seventies was glamorous and gritty at the same time, a place where people like Warhol, Avedon, and Halston as well as their muses came to pursue their wildest ambitions, and when the well began to run dry they darted off to Paris. Though born on the very fringes of this world, Patricia Cleveland, through a combination of luck, incandescent beauty, and enviable style, soon found herself in the center of all that was creative, bohemian, and elegant. A “walking girl,” a runway fashion model whose inimitable style still turns heads on the runways of New York, Paris, Milan, and Tokyo, Cleveland was in high demand.Ranging from the streets of New York to the jet-set beaches of Mexico, from the designer drawing rooms of Paris to the offices of Vogue, here is Cleveland’s larger-than-life story. One minute she’s in a Harlem tenement making her own clothes and dreaming of something bigger, the next she’s about to walk Halston’s show alongside fellow model Anjelica Huston. One minute she’s partying with Mick Jagger and Jack Nicholson, the next she’s sharing the dance floor next to a man with stark white hair, an artist the world would later know as Warhol. In New York, she struggles to secure her first cover of a major magazine. In Paris, she’s the toast of the town. And through the whirlwind of it all, she is forever in pursuit of love, truth, and beauty in this “riveting, celeb-drenched account of her astonishing life in fashion” (Simon Doonan, author of The Asylum).

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No.13
79

A widely-recognized fashion design teacher presents a series of step-by-step tutorials and exercises, and offers students extensive advice on how to prepare for a successful career in the glamorous fashion design industry. The book opens with an overview of the principles of fashion design, a survey of the industry's history and its key designers, and a description of today's markets and customers. The tutorials that follow instruct in designing sportswear, tailored garments for wear to business careers, denim/activewear, cocktail and evening wear, children's clothing, men's garments, and accessories. The author also advises on creating and presenting a fashion portfolio, and on "selling" oneself in a job interview. His several discussions with some of the industry's leading professionals give students valuable insights on how to create and develop one's own original collection. Fashion Design Course is a fine introduction for students, dressmakers, and all others aspiring to careers in this dynamic and rewarding industry. More than 450 how-to color illustrations.

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No.14
78

Patternmaking for Fashion Design

Armstrong, Helen Joseph
Pearson Education India

Printed in Asia - Carries Same Contents as of US edition - Opt Expedited Shipping for 3 to 4 day delivery - - Does NOT include any CD

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No.15
78

Brown Bō'hēmians captures the essence and voice of an underrepresented demographic: creative people of color. Influenced by a deeply held belief that stories sculpt our collective narrative, a group of authors and artists came together to create this first-of-its-kind collection. Inspired by their unique tastes and experiences in fashion, lifestyle, and art, Brown Bō'hēmians brings a vital and virtual movement, born on social media, to life and into print.People of color are the originators of all things, yet are all too often overlooked. Each of our stories is unique, but collectively they contribute to the rebuilding of community, and counter hundreds of years of colonialism, narrow minded and harmful media representation, non-inclusive and conformist beauty standards, and a systemic, historical lack of recognition for our contributions. Brown Bō'hēmians reclaims a small piece of a space that has always been rightfully ours.Created to recognize and elevate the underrepresented and the undervalued, Brown Bō'hēmians is food for the creative spirit that most needs it: you.

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No.16
78

The Beautiful Fall

Drake, Alicia
Little, Brown and Company

A comprehensive biography of the late designer, Karl Lagerfeld, and his infamous rivalry with Yves Saint Laurent.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. Their enduring rivalry is chronicled in this dazzling exposè of an era: of social ambitions, shared obsessions, and the mesmerizing quest for beauty."Deliciously dramatic... The Beautiful Fall crackles with excitement."-New York Times Book Review"Fascinating." -New York Times"Addictive." -Philadelphia Inquirer"It's like US Weekly, 1970s style." -Gotham"A story constructed as exquisitely as a couture dress. . . . It moves stylishly forward, with frequent over-the-shoulder glances at some very dishy background." -Boston Globe

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No.17
78

D.V.

Vreeland, Diana
Ecco

“An evening with D.V. is almost as marvelous as an evening with D.V. herself—same magic, same spontaneity and, above all, never a boring moment. —Bill BlassBrilliant, funny, charming, imperious, Diana Vreeland—the fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue—was a woman whose passion and genius for style helped define the world of high fashion for fifty years. Among her eclectic circle of friends were some of the most renowned and famous figures of the twentieth century—artists and princes, movie stars and international legends, including Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Isak Dinesen, Clark Gable, and Swifty Lazar.Moving from English palaces to the nightclubs of 1930s Paris, the wilds of Wyoming to the exclusive venues of New York high society, D.V. takes readers into this iconic woman's dazzling life, evoking the luxury and brio of an era that encompassed Josephine Baker, England's Queen Mary, Buffalo Bill, and Diaghilev.Vibrant with the vivid, irresistible voice that elevated every tête-à-tête and dinner party, D.V. brings this renowned and uninhibited raconteur alive, whether recalling herself as a young girl, her search for the perfect red, her piquant observations about her world, or her abhorrence for nostalgia. Like her legacy, Vreeland's story, told in her own words, is a classic to be celebrated by both loyal admirers and a new generation of culture mavens and style savants.

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No.18
78

This valuable materials directory for professional dressmakers and fashion designers is also a good reference source for students of fashion design, as well as for those who make their own garments. The author points out the best fabrics for creating specific garments, explaining how each fabric's qualities make it suitable for various items of apparel. Knowing which fabrics can support a structured silhouette is fundamental to fashion design, and this book explains the use of stiff or crisply textured fabrics for tailored garments, as well as soft textured fabrics for rounded forms. Ornamentation is also discussed, and includes advice on how to work with different fabrics to create what author Gail Baugh classifies as opulent, simple, and in-between decorative effects. The book's additional features include: \n Fiber characteristics charts \n Weave charts and knit charts with fabric names and photos \n A glossary of terms and definitions \n Lists of textile suppliers, online stores, and study resources This directory of textiles and their uses is profusely illustrated with more than 500 color photos.

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No.19
77

The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir

Talley, André Leon
Ballantine Books

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the pages of Vogue to the runways of Paris, this “captivating” (Time) memoir by a legendary style icon captures the fashion world from the inside out, in its most glamorous and most cutthroat moments.“The Chiffon Trenches honestly and candidly captures fifty sublime years of fashion.”—Manolo BlahnikNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Fortune • Garden & Gun • New York PostDuring André Leon Talley’s first magazine job, alongside Andy Warhol at Interview, a fateful meeting with Karl Lagerfeld began a decades-long friendship with the enigmatic, often caustic designer. Propelled into the upper echelons by his knowledge and adoration of fashion, André moved to Paris as bureau chief of John Fairchild’s Women’s Wear Daily, befriending fashion's most important designers (Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta). But as André made friends, he also made enemies. A racially tinged encounter with a member of the house of Yves Saint Laurent sent him back to New York and into the offices of Vogue under Grace Mirabella.There, he eventually became creative director, developing an unlikely but intimate friendship with Anna Wintour. As she rose to the top of Vogue’s masthead, André also ascended, and soon became the most influential man in fashion.The Chiffon Trenches offers a candid look at the who’s who of the last fifty years of fashion. At once ruthless and empathetic, this engaging memoir tells with raw honesty the story of how André not only survived the brutal style landscape but thrived—despite racism, illicit rumors, and all the other challenges of this notoriously cutthroat industry—to become one of the most renowned voices and faces in fashion.Woven throughout the book are also André’s own personal struggles that impacted him over the decades, along with intimate stories of those he turned to for inspiration (Diana Vreeland, Diane von Fürstenberg, Lee Radziwill, to name a few), and of course his Southern roots and faith, which guided him since childhood.The result is a highly compelling read that captures the essence of a world few of us will ever have real access to, but one that we all want to know oh so much more about.

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No.21
77

A fascinating chronicle of how celebrity has inundated the world of fashion, realigning the forces that drive both the styles we covet and the bottom lines of the biggest names in luxury apparel.From Coco Chanel’s iconic tweed suits to the miniskirt’s surprising comeback in the late 1980s, fashion houses reigned for decades as the arbiters of style and dictators of trends. Hollywood stars have always furthered fashion’s cause of seducing the masses into buying designers’ clothes, acting as living billboards. Now, forced by the explosion of social media and the accelerating worship of fame, red carpet celebrities are no longer content to just advertise and are putting their names on labels that reflect the image they—or their stylists—created.Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Combs, and a host of pop, sports, and reality-show stars of the moment are leveraging the power of their celebrity to become the face of their own fashion brands, embracing lucrative contracts that keep their images on our screens and their hands on the wheel of a multi-billion dollar industry. And a few celebrities—like the Olsen Twins and Victoria Beckham—have gone all the way and reinvented themselves as bonafide designers. Not all celebrities succeed, but in an ever more crowded and clamorous marketplace, it’s increasingly unlikely that any fashion brand will succeed without celebrity involvement—even if designers, like Michael Kors, have to become celebrities themselves.Agins charts this strange new terrain with wit and insight and an insider’s access to the fascinating struggles of the bold-type names and their jealousies, insecurities, and triumphs. Everyone from industry insiders to fans of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model will want to read Agins’s take on the glitter and stardust transforming the fashion industry, and where it is likely to take us next.

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No.22
77

The Woman I Wanted to Be

von Furstenberg, Diane
Simon & Schuster

One of the most influential, admired, and colorful women of our time: fashion designer and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg tells the most personal stories from her life, about family, love, beauty and business: “It’s so good, you’ll want to take notes” (People).Diane von Furstenberg started with a suitcase full of jersey dresses and an idea of who she wanted to be—in her words, “the kind of woman who is independent and who doesn’t rely on a man to pay her bills.” She has since become that woman, establishing herself as a major force in the fashion industry, all the while raising a family, maintaining that “my children are my greatest creation.”In The Woman I Wanted to Be, “an intriguing page-turner filled with revelations” (More), von Furstenberg reflects on her extraordinary life—from her childhood in Brussels to her days as a young, jet-set princess, to creating the dress that came to symbolize independence and power for generations of women. With remarkable honesty and wisdom, von Furstenberg mines the rich territory of what it means to be a woman. She opens up about her family and career, overcoming cancer, building a global brand, and devoting herself to empowering other women. This “inspiring, compelling, deliciously detailed celebrity autobiography…is as much of a smashing success as the determined, savvy, well-intentioned woman who wrote it” (Chicago Tribune).

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No.23
77

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Dapper Dan is a legend, an icon, a beacon of inspiration to many in the Black community. His story isn’t just about fashion. It’s about tenacity, curiosity, artistry, hustle, love, and a singular determination to live our dreams out loud.”—Ava DuVernay, director of Selma, 13th, and A Wrinkle in TimeNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY VANITY FAIR • DAPPER DAN NAMED ONE OF TIME’S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLDWith his now-legendary store on 125th Street in Harlem, Dapper Dan pioneered high-end streetwear in the 1980s, remixing classic luxury-brand logos into his own innovative, glamorous designs. But before he reinvented haute couture, he was a hungry boy with holes in his shoes, a teen who daringly gambled drug dealers out of their money, and a young man in a prison cell who found nourishment in books. In this remarkable memoir, he tells his full story for the first time.Decade after decade, Dapper Dan discovered creative ways to flourish in a country designed to privilege certain Americans over others. He witnessed, profited from, and despised the rise of two drug epidemics. He invented stunningly bold credit card frauds that took him around the world. He paid neighborhood kids to jog with him in an effort to keep them out of the drug game. And when he turned his attention to fashion, he did so with the energy and curiosity with which he approaches all things: learning how to treat fur himself when no one would sell finished fur coats to a Black man; finding the best dressed hustler in the neighborhood and converting him into a customer; staying open twenty-four hours a day for nine years straight to meet demand; and, finally, emerging as a world-famous designer whose looks went on to define an era, dressing cultural icons including Eric B. and Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Mike Tyson, Alpo Martinez, LL Cool J, Jam Master Jay, Diddy, Naomi Campbell, and Jay-Z.By turns playful, poignant, thrilling, and inspiring, Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem is a high-stakes coming-of-age story spanning more than seventy years and set against the backdrop of an America where, as in the life of its narrator, the only constant is change.Praise for Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem“Dapper Dan is a true one of a kind, self-made, self-liberated, and the sharpest man you will ever see. He is couture himself.”—Marcus Samuelsson, New York Times bestselling author of Yes, Chef“What James Baldwin is to American literature, Dapper Dan is to American fashion. He is the ultimate success saga, an iconic fashion hero to multiple generations, fusing street with high sartorial elegance. He is pure American style.”—André Leon Talley, Vogue contributing editor and author

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No.24
77

In the wildly popular The Little Black Book of Style , fashion authority Nina Garcia showed women how to think about personal style in an entirely new way. Encouraging readers to creatively assert their style identities, Nina showed women of all ages how to hone and self-edit a distinct fashion voice. With her style philosophy firmly out in the world, Nina decided to address the most popular question readers consistently ask Exactly what are fashion's timeless pieces? The One Hundred answers this question and provides women with a tangible style map to follow when planning a shopping trip and stocking one's closet. With illustrations from world-renowned fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo, The One Hundred contains the 100 items that Nina believes will never go out of style and that have become absolutely indispensable for any woman attaining her own eternal fashion look.

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No.25
77

Gorgeously repackaged, this reissue of the classic book presents the iconic photographer’s expert and witty reminiscences of the personalities who inspired fashion’s golden eras, and left an indelible mark on his own sense of taste and style. "The camera will never be invented that could capture or encompass all that he actually sees," Truman Capote once said of Cecil Beaton. Though known for his portraits, Beaton was as incisive a writer as he was a photographer. First published in 1954, The Glass of Fashion is a classic—an invaluable primer on the history and highlights of fashion from a man who was a chronicler of taste, and an intimate compendium of the people who inspired his legendary eye. Across eighteen chapters, complemented by more than 150 of his own line drawings, Beaton writes with great wit about the influence of luminaries such as Chanel, Balenciaga, and Dior, as well as relatively unknown muses like his Aunt Jessie, who gave him his first glimpse of "the grown-up world of fashion." Out of print for decades but recognized and sought after as a touchstone text, The Glass of Fashion will be irresistible to a new generation of fashion enthusiasts and a seminal book in any Beaton library. It is both a treasury and a treasure.

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No.26
76

Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style

Gautier, Jérôme
Yale University Press

A luxurious book that showcases the spirit and essence of Chanel's iconic style through the medium of fashion photography"Jérôme Gautier's text is excellent."—The Wall Street JournalGabrielle 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. Jérôme Gautier tells the story of Chanel's iconic style through hundreds of images, many taken by the leading lights of fashion photography, including Richard Avedon, Gilles Bensimon, Patrick Demarchelier, Horst P. Horst, Annie Leibovitz, Man Ray, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, and Ellen von Unwerth. This innovative volume pairs classic and contemporary photographs, placing fashion plates from Chanel's time alongside those by the house's designer-in-chief, Karl Lagerfeld. For instance, Cecil Beaton's portrait of Chanel appears alongside Lagerfeld's image of Cate Blanchett emulating her, and a classic plate by Henry Clarke flanks an arresting shot by Juergen Teller.Through these dazzling photographs, Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style identifies key elements that have defined Chanel's style for generations, such as jersey and tweed, formerly considered menswear fabrics, and the little black dress, which transformed a hue previously reserved for mourning into a statement of elegance. Pearls were her staple, and she often embellished outfits with her signature camellia. Eleven chapters compare the original forms of these enduring trademarks with their later expressions over the years and to the present day, letting the vocabulary of Chanel's style speak for itself.

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No.27
76

In The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion, curator and critic Antwaun Sargent addresses a radical transformation taking place in fashion and art today.The featuring of the Black figure and Black runway and cover models in the media and art has been one marker of increasingly inclusive fashion and art communities. More critically, however, the contemporary visual vocabulary around beauty and the body has been reinfused with new vitality and substance thanks to an increase in powerful images authored by an international community of Black photographers.In a richly illustrated essay, Sargent opens up the conversation around the role of the Black body in the marketplace; the cross-pollination between art, fashion, and culture in constructing an image; and the institutional barriers that have historically been an impediment to Black photographers participating more fully in the fashion (and art) industries.Fifteen artist portfolios feature the brightest contemporary fashion photographers, including Tyler Mitchell, the first Black photographer hired to shoot a cover story for American Vogue; Campbell Addy, founder of the Nii Agency and journal; and Nadine Ijewere, whose early series title, The Misrepresentation of Representation, says it all. Alongside a series of conversations between generations, their images and stories chart the history of inclusion, and exclusion, in the creation of the commercial Black image, while simultaneously proposing a brilliantly reenvisioned future.Photographs by Campbell Addy, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Micaiah Carter, Awol Erizku, Nadine Ijewere, Quil Lemons, Namsa Leuba, Renell Medrano, Tyler Mitchell, Jamal Nxedlana, Daniel Obasi, Ruth Ossai, Adrienne Raquel, Dana Scruggs, and Stephen TayoAnd including conversations with Shaniqwa Jarvis, Mickalene Thomas, and Deborah Willis

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No.28
76

Christian Dior reveals the secrets of style in The Little Dictionary of Fashion, a charming, indispensable guide that covers everything from what to wear to a wedding and how to tie a scarf to how to walk with grace. These are timeless tips with something special for every woman.“Much has been written about fashion, in all its aspects, but I do not think any couturier has ever before attempted to compile a dictionary on the subject. Of course, it would take volumes to cover the entire field of Fashion, but I have compiled a book which I think is neither too long, so that it becomes tedious, nor too short so that it seems insufficient. . . . I think it should be of great practical use to the women of today.” —from the introductionChristian Dior’s taste, style, and expertise ensures every girl and woman will know the three fundamentals of fashion: simplicity, grooming, and good taste. This A to Z provides thoughtful advice and background on each topic. In “A” alone you will find advice about Accent, Accessories, Adaptation, Afternoon Frocks, Age, and more!Some things never go out of style: beauty and style among them. Here you will find advice that is as useful today as it was when first put on paper by one of the greatest names in French fashion, the master designer himself. First published in the 1950s, and filled with timeless advice, this landmark edition was published for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Golden Age of Couture exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dior’s “New Look,” and illustrated with delightful photographs and drawings. This handbag-size classic is the perfect gift book for any style-conscious woman.

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