Recommendations : Books About Fashion & Designers

[gius]

I'd really like to know the economics behind it and how fashion houses work as an institution. Why they do things.

I have always thought about this. Look at Chanel, they make clothes the center piece of their fashion house, but how often do they really sell their clothes? It must pale in comparison to the ammount of watches/perfume/makeup that they sale.

It seems that they structure themselves to show off their clothes to attract attention so they can sell their other products. The same way automobile companies make really flashy cars but really only sell their lesser models to the general people.

enigma, there are conversations about that all over the forums here, but I don't know if there is one book on it. How about this book? Luxury Fashion Branding

There are also members you might want to contact for more ideas.. Check related threads, maybe typing business or couture in the search fields, to see which memberes are posting in those threads
Some examples:
lacroix fashion house declares insolvency
olivier theyskens
and other threads specific to one designer have a lot of talk about their business ventures

some possible members..
Harumi, milada, designerleather, mutterlein, educo, spike413, tricotineacetat..

 

[gius]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I've been looking for information on the actual construction of clothing...like the process designers or manufacturers go through to actually cut and sew the pieces. I don't know if this belongs in here, if not, please steer me in the right direction!

Sav_ do you mean sewing and patternmaking? Or construction on a grander scale, like how a collection gets produced, maybe 100 copies of each design

-

sidewalks I have seen a lot of sewing books that talk about ideas in how to dress a figure... Ideas for colour, silhouette, texture/print pattern depending on a person's figure/face shape/ height/ etc.
Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing (I have the one from 1975)
New Vogue Sewing book

and online (these links just have a small overview, general ideas..)
http://www.vintagesewing.info/1920s/26-fcm/fcm-intro.html
http://www.vintagesewing.info/1930s/30-paris/paris-toc.html

for hats
http://www.vintagesewing.info/1930s/30-mp/mp-24-sele.html

And you can study more , by reading about art and design
"fundamentals"
line, shape, texture, balance, contrast, etc...

to put it simply 'styling' is all based on "proportions"
and using your eye to find what feels 'right' ^^

 

[BerlinRocks]

Are there any books about styling that you guys recommend? I'd love to read about other stylists, becoming a stylist, and learn more about what looks good on a person and how to dress different body types.

the most fresh and famous book regarding stylists is this one :
Stylists : The Interpreters of Fashion
http://www.amazon.com/Stylist-Inter...r_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244795090&sr=8-11

and, though it's not really stylist related, i would recommend :
The Cheap Date Guide to Style - compiled by Cheap Date Magazine's founders
http://www.amazon.com/Cheap-Date-Gu...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244795221&sr=1-1

- this is not the cover book i got, but i guess this is the same book.
"this book contains, everything a girl could wish to know about style/ Seamless, irreverent and very funny, it's a must-have for all seasons"

 

[Sav_]

Gius, I guess I mean sewing and patternmaking!

 

[gius]

I see

You'll find that in this other thread then
Books for Fashion Designers: Sewing, Draping, Developing your Own Line. Etc.

 

[Sav_]

Ohhh I had no idea, thanks

 

[Spike413]

I'm going to echo BerlinRocks' recommendation from the last page. I finished reading "The Beautiful Fall" by Alicia Drake a week ago and it's definitely a must read. It offers so much insight into YSL and Lagerfeld, their rivalry, their work and their personalities, as well as the fashion industry in general from the late 50s to the mid-80s.

 

[Cicciolina]

I'd really like to know the economics behind it and how fashion houses work as an institution. Why they do things.

I have always thought about this. Look at Chanel, they make clothes the center piece of their fashion house, but how often do they really sell their clothes? It must pale in comparison to the ammount of watches/perfume/makeup that they sale.

It seems that they structure themselves to show off their clothes to attract attention so they can sell their other products. The same way automobile companies make really flashy cars but really only sell their lesser models to the general people.

I feel like I keep on spruiking this book, but I think Teri Agin's The End of Fashionhttp://www.amazon.com/End-Fashion-Marketing-Clothing-Business/dp/0688151604 is perfect for this too.

 

[fashionandstyle1]

LOVE this thread! I have a list of 5 books I want to read now! I'm going to get House of Gucci today...everyone seems to give it great reviews. I've read The Beautiful Fall (Drake), The End of Fashion (Agins), and Deluxe (Thomas) which were all really good in my opinion.

Also, Fashion Babylon (Edwards-Jones) and Some Like it Haute (Dam) were fun light fiction reads...probably perfect for reading at the beach!!

 

[jchaussure]

I'm with cicciolina, i suggest the end of fashion by teri agins. it's very interesting regarding the business and marketing side of fashion.

 

[miss_coutureland]

I currently have "the golden age of couture- 1947-57-" which kind of focuses on the beginning of the couture label such as Dior and Balenciaga.. worth a read if you want to brush up on fashion history.
I also have "In vogue" which is excellent, is about 600 pages on the history of vogue, photographers, editors, models etc, and it has heaps of illustrations and photos.
I also just bought "fashion- from concept to consumer" which is about the prouction and stages of the business of fashion but i havnt read it yet.

 

[rockitgirl]

My two faves as far as textual/good-to-know-informational fashion books go are The Power of Fashion which is just excellent (but you'll get the most out of it if you know some fashion history first so I'd recommend learning that before reading it) and Fashion Theory Magazine which is available FOR FREE online (past and present) from many public libraries (there is also Textiles History Magazine for those interested in Textiles but I have never read it).

Do yourself a favour and check out your local library's website. Most of them have subscriptions to online journal databases which have copies of journals and serials (expensive textual magazines) for free use for library card holders. A library I have a card for (a city I used to live in but never cancelled the card) even has a subscription to a site that has entire books online for free, including fashion books.

 

[bafchloe]

The book "Fashion: From Concept To Consumer" by Gini Stephens Frings is amazing. It talks about every single aspect about the fashion industry. It is easy reading and very informative, definitely one of my favorites!

 

[ad111714]

I've received Maison Martin Margiela - 20, the exhibition|[exhibition to celebrate the 20 years of Maison Martin Margiela ; 12 september 2008 to 8 february 2009] today. Great book -- such a pity I didn't see the exhibition!

 

[fashion.fashoff]

ThomasSing, is it possible for you to post a couple scans of pictures in the the margiela book (either here or in the mmm thread)? i'm having a hard time finding it for its cover price, seems to be sold out on all the amazons etc., would like to see how it looks inside before spending a lot on it.

 

[ad111714]

ThomasSing, is it possible for you to post a couple scans of pictures in the the margiela book (either here or in the mmm thread)? i'm having a hard time finding it for its cover price, seems to be sold out on all the amazons etc., would like to see how it looks inside before spending a lot on it.

I actually have it in my office at university. But I've found some pics here:
http://hypebeast.com/2008/09/maison-martin-margiela-20-exhibition/
http://stylezeitgeist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4968
http://bookofdays-shop.com/?pid=10519402

Does someone have the almost 1000 pages book "CREAM 09: Maison Martin Margiela" ?? I can't find it in German libraries and before I spend almost 100 Eur for a used copy, I'd like to know what's inside....

 

[VogueParisLover]

Right now I'm reading The Beautiful Fall. It's amazing! I bought it a while ago and never got around to reading it until now... so glad I finally did.

 

[ad111714]

Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion

I was just looking throgh the website of Berg Publishers and noticed that they've announced a Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion (print & online) by Joanne B. Eicher to be published May 2010 in 10 volumes, on almost 6000 pages, with 2000 images. The price will be 1250 UK £, 995 if you order before May 2010.
The price is of course high, but maybe you can convince your local / university libraries to get a copy.
All information HERE.

 

[ad111714]

Received some outstanding fashion books yesterday:
"Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity, and Deathliness" by Caroline Evans,
"Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed (Metropolitan Museum of Art)" by Harold Koda, and
"The House of Viktor & Rolf" by Caroline Evans & Susannha Frankel

 

[brianna]

Anyone have any recommendations for books written by people who've worked in the fashion industry? A lot of books recommended have to do with designers but I'm most interested in books on fashion PR, magazines, visual merchandising, etc. I guess I'm looking for some non-fiction type books similar to The Devil Wears Prada, where insiders tell their own stories. Thanks