HFSI BOOK BLOG

Here is a list of my 10 favorite fashion books

01

Hijacking the runway : how celebrities are stealing the spotlight from fashion designers     Teri Agins

Call #: CNRR 338.4 AGI

Location: H S of Fashion

 

"A ... chronicle of how celebrity has inundated the world of fashion, realigning the forces that drive both the styles [people] covet and the bottom lines of the biggest names in luxury apparel, [discussing how stars] are leveraging the power of their celebrity to become the face of their own fashion brands [and] embracing lucrative contracts that keep their images on ... screens and their hands on the wheel of a multi-billion dollar industry ..."

 

02

9 heads : a guide to fashion drawing      Nancy Riegelman

Call #: CNRR 741.672 Rie

Location: H S of Fashion

 

Partial contents: Proportions of the croquis -- Draping the figure -- Accessories -- Flats -- Encyclopedia of details -- How to draw textiles (rendering) -- How to draw real clothes -- Fashion drawing in the real world -- Art of illustration -- Computers and fashion drawing.

 

03

Chanel and her world : friends, fashion, and fame Edmonde Charles-Roux

Call #: B Chanel

Location: H S OF FASHION

 

An illustrated guide to the life and work of fashion icon Gabrielle Chanel, describing her childhood in an orphanage, early successes, extraordinary influence on the fashions of the twentieth century, and lasting legacy in the fashion world.

 

04

Louis Vuitton : art, fashion and architecture

Call #: CNRR 338.47 Lou

Location: H S of Fashion

 

 

Full-color photographs and critical essays examine Louis Vuitton's associations with the world of art, discussing the luxury brand's collaborations with a variety of artists and architects, such as Jun Aoki, Shigeru Ban, Vanessa Beecroft, and Olafur Eliasson.

 

05

Vera Wang   Lisa Petrillo

Call #: B Wang

Location: H S of Fashion

 

Chronicles the life of fashion designer Vera Wang, discussing her privileged childhood, years as a competitive ice skater, influence on modern weddings, fashion ventures, and other related topics.

 

06

Fashion illustration : inspiration and technique   Anna Kiper.

Call #: CNRR 741.6 KIP

Location: H S of Fashion

 

A guide to fashion illustration that offers a step-by-step overview of the process and includes advice on page compositions, depicting texture, print, and embellishments, developing an individualized drawing style, and achieving movement and attitude.

 

07

Shocking! : the art and fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli  Dilys E. Blum.

Call #: CNRR 746.9 Blu

Location: H S of Fashion

 

1890-1973.Schiaparelli, Elsa, 1890-1973 -- Exhibitions. Women fashion designers -- France -- Biography. Women fashion designers -- France -- Exhibitions.Fashion designers -- France -- Biography. Fashion designers -- France -- Exhibitions. Fashion design -- France -- Paris -- History -- 20th century.

 

08

African textiles today   Chris Spring

Call #: CNRR 746 SPR

Location: H S of Fashion

 

Showcases the best of contemporary African textiles, with insights into the history of Africa, as the making and trading of cloth have been important elements in African culture for at least two thousand years.

 

09

Isabel Toledo : fashion from the inside out

Valerie Steele and Patricia Mears.

Call #: CNRR 746.92092 Ste

Location: H S of Fashion

 

Photographs and text profile the work of Cuban-born fashion designer Isabel Toledo and explore her influence on the fashion industry.  

 

10

A queer history of fashion : from the closet to the catwalk edited by Valerie Steele ; introduction by Hal Rubinstein ; contributions by Christopher Breward, Shaun Cole, Vicki Karaminas , Peter McNeil, Elizabeth Wilson.

Call #: CNRR 746.92 Que

Location: H S of Fashion

 

"From Christian Dior to Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen, many of the greatest fashion designers of the past century have been gay. Fashion and style have played an important role within the LGBTQ community, as well, even as early as the 18th century. This provocative book looks at the history of fashion through a queer lens, examining high fashion as a site of gay cultural production and exploring the aesthetic sensibilities and unconventional dress of LGBTQ people, especially since the 1950s, to demonstrate the centrality of gay culture to the creation of modern fashion. Contributions by some of the world's most acclaimed scholars of gay history and fashion - including Christopher Breward, Shaun Cole, Vicki Karaminas, Jonathan D. Katz, Peter McNeil, and Elizabeth Wilson - investigate topics such as the context in which key designers' lives and works form part of a broader "gay" history; the "archeology" of queer attire back to the homosexual underworld of 18th-century Europe; and the influence of LGBTQ subcultural styles from the trouser suits worn by Marlene Dietrich (which inspired Yves Saint Laurent's "Le Smoking") to the iconography of leather. Sumptuous illustrations include both fashion photography and archival imagery"--"Although it has long been recognized that gay people appear to have a special relationship with fashion and style, this will be the first book to look at the history of fashion through a queer lens and to explore the "gayness" or "queerness" of fashion. The book will explore the importance of gay men as fashion designers from the 1930s to the present, including the contributions to fashion history of gay designers such as Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Alexander McQueen. Bisexual and lesbian designers and other fashion professionals will also be considered. In addition, the book will document the creativity and resistance to oppression expressed by LGBTQ (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer) sub-cultural styles, which have often transgressed sex and gender norms. Finally, the book will explore the influence of a queer sensibility, queer aesthetic(s), and queer sub-cultural styles on fashion over the past century"--