5 New Books for Your Summer Fashion Education
Allow us to make a controversial statement: Summer is for studying. Yes, studying. But we're not talking about problem sets and expository essays. A school-less few months is the perfect time to read up on things you're really passionate about, and in our (and probably your!) case, one of those things is fashion.
Unless you're at design school, chances are you don't get too many opportunities to learn about current topics in the industry, not to mention its rich history. And that's where our book picks come in!
Go on, take a look at the new tomes sure to up your fashion IQ over summer break.
1/6Get some learning in while school is out.
2/6<a href="http://www.phaidon.com/store/fashion-culture/pattern-9780714849720/" target="_blank">Pattern</a>
The concept of this book is super cool: 10 clued-in fashion people each pick their 10 favorite young designers, resulting in a list of 100 groundbreaking artists you need to know about right now. The curators include a senior lecturer at Central Saint Martins, the team behind Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio, and the editors of cult men’s mag Fantastic Man, while Creatures of the Wind, Peter Pilotto, and Suno are among the anointed talent. The hefty volume includes loads of gorgeous images and even comes in a tote that matches the chic cover.
$79, Phaidon.com.
3/6<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fashion-Design-Referenced-Language-Practice/dp/1592536778" target="_blank">Fashion Design, Referenced</a>
Forget what you thought about boring reference books—this one is a totally delightful and extremely informative encyclopedia of all things fashion. Get schooled on terms, techniques, and icons, and consult an illustrated timeline of over 500 years of fashion history. For some serious crammage, read this baby from cover to cover, or keep it on hand as an all-inclusive resource.
$36, BarnesandNoble.com.
4/6<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Black-Dress-Andre-Talley/dp/0847840573/" target="_blank">Little Black Dress</a>
Who better to explore a fashion classic than Andre Leon Talley? The former Vogue editor’s book is a companion to the Little Black Dress exhibit he mounted at SCAD, which featured dozens and dozens of LBDs from Coco Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, and pretty much every other important designer in recent history. The book has photos of all these beauties—shot to stunning effect in black and white—as well as essays from Robin Givhan and Maureen Dowd that drive home the cultural significance of fashion’s most elegant standby.
$34, Amazon.com.
5/6<a href="http://www.fashionprojects.org/?p=4532" target="_blank">Fashion Projects</a>
Okay, so technically this isn’t a book, but rather a print journal with an academic approach to fashion theory. The most recent issue focuses on criticism, featuring interviews with legendary critics like Lynn Yaeger, Guy Trebay, and Suzy Menkes (that’s a cartoon Suzy on the front cover). Prepare to do some deep thinking after reading what these heavy-hitters have to say about the state of fashion journalism.
$10, FashionProjects.org.
6/6<a href="http://store.metmuseum.org/exhibition-catalogues/punk-chaos-to-couture/invt/80020445" target="_blank">Punk: Chaos to Couture</a>
Another book birthed from an exhibit, this one catalogues the Costume Institute’s latest show at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tome teaches all you need to know about the industry’s current obsession (punk!) and provides fun visuals from the exhibit (which are especially helpful if you won’t be making it to NYC to see it IRL this summer). If for nothing else, get this book to soak up some knowledge from the Costume Institute’s inimitable curator, Andrew Bolton.
$45, MetMuseum.org.
