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10 books about fashion you need to read
The right dose of cult readings to overcome the boredom of these days
Art & Design
March 10th, 2020
March 10th, 2020
Closed at home for more than good security reasons, we find ourselves with more time in our hands than we used to manage. And after you've emptied your Netflix catalog, finished your video games and cooked everything your patience allowed you to cook, you'll just have to sit on the couch and open a book. For this reason nss magazine has selected ten readings that speak of fashion both telling the history of big brands such as Gucci or Prada, and painting the great personalities of famous designers lowering them in their time, and more "technical" volumes that describe the anatomy of styles and cultures.
Christian Dior & Moi – Christian Dior
Every list of books on fashion should start with this book. Christian Dior was a couturier of other times: refined, cultured, sensitive, in constant contact with the jet-set and the world of Parisian intellectuals of the first half of the last century. His autobiography is the best way to retrace his life and his nostalgic world, listening to every single story as if from his own voice.
The Prada Life - Gian Luigi Paracchini
Prada's long and rich history should not be seen for glimpses but in its entirety. This book represents the top-down view that serves to follow the birth and evolution of a brand that is not only a metal triangle above a bag, but a true epic all Milanese that will transport you back through decades of fashion history.
La vilaine Lulu – Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent not only drew sketches and figurines, but also dabbled with comics. Lulu, the protagonist of these stories, becomes a lens through which we can observe the brilliant life and excesses of the Parisian Rive Gauche in the golden days of the great Yves. A lively and funny tale, not without some irony, which is a great point of access into the life and aesthetics of one of the great geniuses of fashion.
Gianni Versace – Tony di Corcia
Everyone says Gianni Versace was a legend, but too many don't really know how he became a legend. This biography of Tony di Corcia, opened by an introduction by Giorgio Armani, traces the life and career of the Calabrian designer stage by stage, to the inevitable and tragic end.
The Psychology of Clothes - John C. Flügel
From prehistory to modernity, the book of Fligel talks about why we wear our clothes, what their social and personal meanings are and, for anyone who says they love fashion, it will turn out to be a reading perhaps not light but deeply enlightening.
Items: Is Fashion Modern? - Paola Antonelli and Michelle Millar Fisher
Edited by the MoMa in New York to accompany one of his most successful performances, this book-catalogue represents an exploration of all the most iconic fashion designs that have transformed our culture. From Levi's jeans to Yves Saint Laurent tuxedos, this encyclopedia of the most basic items of contemporary fashion is a portrait of our modern way of dressing through time.
Les Parisiens & La Parisienne – Ines de la Fressange and Sophie Gachet
Ines de la Fressange is an iconic figure. Queen of French socialites and muse of Mugler and Lagerfeld, her two guides on Parisian chic for men and women are pleasant books in their frivolity, but full of interesting tips and funny stories that will make you touch the essence of one timeless style.
Gucci – Patrizia Gucci
Before Alessandro Michele, before Kering and Tom Ford, Gucci was synonymous with luxury for decades – decades during which time the brand was a family business. This volume, written by the cousin of that Maurizio Gucci who was tragically killed by a hitman at 20 Via Palestro, in Milan, is the great family novel of Italian fashion, told from the inside, not with the voice of a scholar or an archivist, but of a member of the dynasty that forever marked fashion.
Undercover – Jun Takahashi
In this book, Mr. Takahashi himself has collected decades of sketches, unpublished photographs, collaborations and sketches that will give you the opportunity to observe the anatomy of the creative process of one of the most important designers of the fashion system. With over 200 photographs and various essays and articles written by curators, editors and brand experts, this book is the ultimate guide for anyone who wants to discover the world of Undercover.
The sense of Beauty – George Santayana
Karl Lagerfeld, reader and compulsive book collector, spoke of this volume by George Santayan: "My philosophical bible. It's very hard to find and has never been translated into French. The only person who knew him was Gore Vidal." Reading this essay about how art and beauty can be intersected in the broader panorama of human society may not be the smoothest, but keep in mind that these are the same lines that the great Lagerfeld read and reread to refine the your own thought. After reading it, you'll look at Kaiser Karl's work with completely different eyes.
