Fashion Coffee Table Books

[FadeToBlack]

....That you own.

I've become a collector of some amazing tomes from exhibitions all over the world. My favourite from the MET so far has to be China: Through the looking glass. The embossed cover alone is incredibly beautiful.

Some of my favourites -

Margiela : The Hermes Years.
Azzedine Alaia in the 21st Century.
Balenciaga Paris by Pamela Golbin.
Possibly one of the most in-depth books about one designer I've ever read. It mainly covers Cristobal, but covers Nicolas' early work at the house until around 2006.

Lanvin : I love you.
For any fan of Alber, or Lanvin. This is a must. The book documents all the windows designed by Alber, it's an incredible visual.

I'm a sucker for good packaging on a book so these are some that I love.

Karl Lagerfeld : 50 years at Fendi.
(this comes in a wooden box, in a shopping bag, with the book split into sections and theres also a USB with documentaries and interviews with Karl on there).

Prada by Prada.
This came in a box with thumbnails of the book covered all over it and then inside was the book in a slipcase in a mock leather that covers their shoe boxes. Inside the level of detail in the book was amazing, I loved the humour of how they covered how people described their bags on eBay. documenting the show spaces by Rem Koolhaus and also design profession.

---

I really loved the mini books that Juergen Teller did in collaboration with Nicolas Ghesquiere and Louis Vuitton, that were published by Steidl in germany. They transported you into the inspiration of the collection, with snapshots of the clothes and the ad campaigns. They have only done 3 so far.

Also, would be nice to hear of ones you're considering or ones you think are beautiful.

 

[softgrey]

interesting...
if you can find any pics to add, that'd be cool...

there is potentially a thread like this in Art and Design...
(there is a LOT of good stuff in there...btw...)

possibly about recommendations for books about fashion, can't remember the exact title...

 

[eugenius]

Margiela : The Hermes Years.

Balenciaga Paris by Pamela Golbin.
Possibly one of the most in-depth books about one designer I've ever read. It mainly covers Cristobal, but covers Nicolas' early work at the house until around 2006.

Lanvin : I love you.
For any fan of Alber, or Lanvin. This is a must. The book documents all the windows designed by Alber, it's an incredible visual.

Also, would be nice to hear of ones you're considering or ones you think are beautiful.

"Margiela: The Hermes Years?" Yes, that one's definitely on my Amazon wish-list. Thanks for reminding me.

"Balenciaga Paris?" Thanks for this one. I really want to see more of his work more than Nicolas's, so this sounds like a solid choice.

If you like that Lanvin book, might I suggest this Lanvin book? Alber had a hand in this book, so here, you can definitely see the connection between Jeanne & Alber's work. Talk about "being respectful to the codes of the house." (src: amazon.com)

 

[vogue28]

I've SO many fantastic coffee table books stacked up and there is still so many brilliant books out there. Thank you for starting, FadeToBlack!

Some recent purchases of mine are:

Chanel Catwalk
Christian Dior Catwalk
Claudia Schiffer by Claudia Schiffer

Some of my all-time favorite books are:

Vogue: The Covers
Models of Influence by Nigel Barker
Becoming by Cindy Crawford
Christian Dior: The New Look Revolution
Harper's Bazaar: The Models
Vogue: The Editor's Eye
Vogue Paris: The Covers (2010)
Vogue Paris: The Covers (2015)

 

[eugenius]

Definitely adding to my Want list:

It's no different than his first book: just a collection of what he's done post-Gucci. The quality of the paper definitely adds to it. I'm not necessarily a big Tom Ford fan, but the book makes for nice eye-candy.

 

[aracic]

Does anyone happen to have this book? I'm curious to know whether the photographers are actually credited for each of the campaigns? I can't seem to find that information anywhere. TIA x

rizzoli

 

[aracic]

Also to avoid resurrecting this thread by questions alone, thought I'd share my thoughts on my own collection.

I believe it started with Love Looks Not With the Eyes by Anne Deniau, a fantastic book of McQueen's backstage moments captured by the author. Truly a magnificent selection of photographs displayed very beautifully, something everyone interested in the work of Alexander McQueen should have - especialy those who also have a love for backstage images of old fashion shows! Not the mention how splendid that cover shot of Sigrid Agren is... truly one of my most prized possessions. There's a video preview of the book I came across on YouTube just now for anyone interested.



Then I've got the Dior: New Looks, John Galliano Unseen and Dior - Christian Dior (1947-1957). Always had an admiration for Dior books (those Couture books by Demarchelier still on top of my wishlist!). It's been a while since I last looked at New Looks, but I remember being underwhelmed as I received it at a time when I still didn't have a developed perception and understanding of high fashion and the things I was looking at. Will definitely have to revisit the book when I get home this summer. Robert Fairer's JG Unseen is another book of backstage shots and it's always fun to look at! It offers a closer look at some of the details as well as a peek into the chaotic energy of those early shows, it's simply fabulous! The Christian Dior one is the first of 7(?) books from that on-going collection of books dedicated to each of the designers that worked for the brand. It's massive and it's beautiful, true eye candy filled to the brim with the most gorgeous designs of Christian Dior himself! Wish I had gotten the other books as well.

Next up, the fantastic Taschen's Gisele Bündchen. The spectacular cover shot by Irving Penn, the neon plastic sleeve, the endless amount of Gisele... it's just so spectacular! On the topic of models, I also have the paperback Kate Moss by Mario Testino, which cover design I absolutely adore as well as everything published inside, but my only complaint is that it's paperback! The book deserved to be a proper hardcover edition. Also beware of the endless fingerprints on the silver foil cover, extremely annoying, but an awesome book nonetheless.

hello

I'm forgetting some, I'm sure of it. There's a Tim Walker book, a W Magazine book and a Prada book as well! God, I haven't been back home in a while lmao

And then there's my beloved, Franca: Chaos and Creation. No words, no explanations needed.

vmagazine

 

[eugenius]

Still kicking myself for not getting that Gisele book. It's very beautiful, indeed!

I'll keep an eye out on the book for THE Christian Dior. The other Dior designers are..nice..but they can never compete w/ the original.

Hard No to the Taschen books re: Rei, Yohji, and Rick..the ones w/ the pink spine. It's mostly just a collection of modern-day images we can easily find online, so it's nothing we haven't seen before.

Thanks for sharing, aracic.

 

[blueorchid]

The Christian Dior one is the first of 7(?) books from that on-going collection of books dedicated to each of the designers that worked for the brand. It's massive and it's beautiful, true eye candy filled to the brim with the most gorgeous designs of Christian Dior himself!

That Dior series of books is really well done. For some reason, I didn't purchase the Christian Dior one (I think it might have been out of stock when I wanted it, and then forgot to ever buy it... I'm going to add it to my list to purchase), but I own the Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Bohan ones. I particularly enjoyed the one about Bohan's years. It gave me a new appreciation at his years at Dior, which weren't particularly innovative (but that was never his goal), so many of his designs were gorgeous. It also features an interview with him which added a bit of insight to his years there (he came across as very likeable, modest), as well.



new-mags

 

[blueorchid]

I should also add, this new Alber tribute book caught my eye.

Love Brings Love: A Homage to Alber Elbaz (Rizzoli, 2022)

A touching volume that celebrates the life and work of beloved fashion designer Alber Elbaz.

On April 24, 2021, the designer Alber Elbaz passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The creative director of Lanvin from 2001 to 2015, he was the most consequential figure from the fashion community lost to the pandemic.

Love Brings Love, the celebration of Elbaz’s life and work that concluded Paris Fashion Week on October 5, 2021, remains a unique event in the recent history of the industry. In tribute, forty-four designers, from nearly all the French and Italian maisons, as well as his dear friends in Japan and the United States, created dresses for a memorial fashion show—the first collaborative one to have ever been held in Paris. Of the more than seventy looks, thirty were by Elbaz, posthumously executed by his team at AZ Factory.

The international fashion community came as one family to publicly mourn and remember one of their own, with a reverence and affection reserved only for someone so universally and genuinely loved.

This book is divided into three parts, which include texts written by Elbaz prior to his passing; a sequence of sketches by forty-four designers and maisons, including Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons, Giambattista Valli, Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Rick Owens, and Valentino, on uncoated stock; and a section of photographs of completed dresses, including dresses designed by Elbaz, on matte coated stock.

The sequence describes in ways both conceptual and material how his friends and peers saw him, and how they intimately honored his memory with their own work and in their own words

penguinrandomhouse

 

[Drusilla_]

Vivienne Westwood Catwalk: The Complete Collections, it came out just last year and is gorgeous.

My personal all-time favourite remains the V&A's Savage Beauty catalogue for the 2015 Lee McQueen exhibition, it was exquisite.

 

[eugenius]

My personal all-time favourite remains the V&A's Savage Beauty catalogue for the 2015 Lee McQueen exhibition, it was exquisite.

Hey, do you know if this differs from the Savage Beauty book that the Met published? I want to get this book, but there’s no sense in doing so if it’s essentially the same material.

 

[axiomatic]

FYI Target online has buy 2 books get one free, expiring tomorrow. They're usually the same price as Amazon

 

[SaoriShun]

I've had a tough time deciding whether I want to buy the book 'Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Colour' by Valerie Steele. You see, I have very little money and won't buy just any book; it has to be of great use to me. I'm an aspiring fashion designer and I only buy books that 1) I can't read for free online or at my library and 2) will be useful for planning the collections that I want to design.
Anyway, I'm hugely inspired by anime fashion and love this Evangelion-inspired look from Louis Vuitton's Spring 2016 RTW collection:

And while I was googling this book and the FIT exhibition of the same name, I discovered that this exact Vuitton runway outfit appeared in the exhibition. I'm still undecided whether I want this book or not, but if this outfit appears I will definitely buy the book.
So here are my questions: Does this ensemble from Louis Vuitton's Spring 2016 RTW collection appear in the book or only the exhibition? And if this outfit appeared in the book, which chapter did it appear in?

 

[axiomatic]

books that 1) I can't read for free online or at my library

Don't know where you're located, but if you're in the US, you can try to get the book through interlibrary loan if it's not at your local library. It looks like a fair number of libraries have it

 

[SaoriShun]

First of all, I live in Australia. Second, my library is no longer able to get books through ILLs.
The only way I can read this book is to purchase a print copy, and I won't be able to decide whether I want this book or not unless someone tells me if this ensemble from Louis Vuitton's Spring 2016 RTW collection appears in this book, and if so in which chapter.