Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre
books,designer,quick shopping fix
Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre by Dana Thomas
Warning: do not buy another handbag before reading this book. Exhaustively researched and snappily written by Dana Thomas, this entertaining read examines the state of the luxury industry today, and how it got there. Sparing no-one, Thomas investigates how the big luxury fashion houses operate, as well as reporting on the fake luxury industry it has spawned. The cultural and fashion writer for Newsweek in Pars, Thomas is obviously well connected, and has access to everyone who matters in the industry (she interviews Tom Ford and Miuccia Prada among others). Whether she will be still welcome after the publication of this book is another matter, but, Thomas has done something few in the fashion industry have dared: told the truth. Essential reading. Published by Penguin Press. Available on
Amazon.
Style A to Zoe
Rachel Zoe,books
Style A to Zoe by Rachel Zoe
There seems to be no stopping Rachel Zoe. The Los Angeles-based stylist, famous for making fashion icons of Nicole Richie, Mischa Barton and Lindsay Lohan, has recently been appointed creative director of the soon-to-be-relaunched Halston label. Funnily enough, the late designer himself is pictured at the front of the book in his seventies heyday, partying with Bianca Jagger. Despite this, and a few other unsubtle references to the brand throughout the book, there\'s no denying Miss Zoe has created a fun and inspiring book. Filled with pictures of her beloved "girls" - Keira Knightley, Joy Bryant, et al - there is lots of useful advice on how to get glamorous in the Zoe manner, as well as practical pointers on everything from how to find the best pair of jeans to why a stylist should always carry tampons. Yes, it\'s true Zoe\'s aesthetic may not be to everyone\'s taste, but as she herself says, "If you show up looking a bit more glam than the rest, what\'s the worst-case scenario? You look the best in the room?" Can\'t argue with that. Available on
Amazon.
Christian Lacroix on Fashion
books,exhibitions,christian lacroix
Christian Lacroix On Fashion
To celebrate twenty years in the business, French fashion designer Christian Lacroix has curated an exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Paris. He was given access to the 500-year old costume archive, which is also the largest in the world. This is the catalogue of the exhibition, and leafing through its glossy pages is nearly as exhilirating as visiting the vibrant show itself. Like the exhibition, the book is arranged by theme - \'Checks, Plaids & Tartans\', and \'Art of the Unusual\' being two of the more unusual ones (the latter chapter begins with the words \'My longstanding love of bad taste. This is what sends me with an unquenchable gusto into kitsch boutiques...or the seashell salt cellars of my youth.\') This is both an education in fashion history and an awesome appreciation of it, as seen through the eyes of one of the 21st century\'s true fashion design geniuses. Published by Thames & Hudson. Available on
Amazon. Read Danielle Radojcin\'s blog review of the
Lacroix show
Stylist: the Interpreters of Fashion
Carine Roitfeld,Camilla Nickerson,books
Stylist: the Interpreters of Fashion by Sarah Mower
This good-looking coffee table tome takes a peek at the people behind the most striking images in fashion today - no, not the photographers as is usually the case, but the stylists, as chosen by British fashion writer Sarah Mower. So Paris Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, we learn, is all about an anti-intellectual approach to fashion: "All that matters to me when you look at a page is, \'Do you want to be that girl?\'", whereas
W magazine\'s senior contributing fashion editor Camilla Nickerson is all about the shock of the new: "If you\'ve seen it before, don\'t do it." With a foreword by Anna Wintour, it\'s amazing to realise just how influential these people are in these image-conscious times. Published by Rizzoli. Available on
Amazon.
Lanvin
books,lanvin,vintage
Lanvin book published by Rizzoli
Today Lanvin is one of the most revered designer brands in the world, with Alber Elbaz at the helm. And while the founding designer\'s of fellow design houses such as Dior and Balenciaga are celebrated with abandon, very little is said about Jeanne Lanvin, who died in 1967. (Surely a retrospective is in order?) This gorgeously illustrated coffee table book takes a look at her life and at the clothes that made her the toast of the Paris
beau-monde during the 1920s and 30s. Published by Rizzoli. Available on
Amazon.
The Little Dictionary of Fashion
books,Dior,vintage
The Little Dictionary of Fashion Christian Dior
First published in 1954 by the great designer himself, this book has been re-released by the Victoria & Albert Museum to accompany
The Golden Age of Couture exhibition (
ends 6 January 2008). Bursting with nuggets of advice on tmatters as tricky as the fit of a dress ("Be careful of the grain of the material...If the material is used the right way only the minimum of darts and tucks are needed") and hilariously antiquated maxims ("Every woman should have something pink in her wardrobe. It is the colour of happiness and femininity.") this slender volume makes a good stocking-filler, and could be the perfect way to while away those langurous hours between Christmas lunch and Christmas dinner. Published by the V&A. Available on
Amazon.
Dior: 60 Years of Style
books,Dior,vintage
Dior 60 Years of Style
The house of Christian Dior turned 60 this year. This book is a celebration of everything the house stands for, of its designers over the years (including Yves Saint Laurent and Gianfranco Ferre), and of course the clothes, as photographed by the likes of Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and Nick Knight. Published by Thames & Hudson. Available on
Amazon.
