5 Books to Read if You’re Interested in Fashion
My best recommendations for anyone excited to learn more about the industry, from my personal library.
My introduction to the world of high-fashion was on an 8-hour flight to Rio de Janiero, when the only movie I managed to download from the iTunes library was a new Alexander McQueen documentary. Immediately, I was captivated, fascinated, and needed to learn more.
Prior to my McQueen awakening, I didn’t know much about fashion at all. I didn’t know the difference between Fenty and Fendi, or LVMH and Kering, or what a “Creative Director” was, or how many ‘fashion weeks’ there are per year (the answer is….a lot). Nothing at all.
After watching “McQueen”, however, I wanted to —needed to—dive deeper, and learn more about an industry that influences the very way we choose to present ourselves to the world (e.g. what we wear every day).
So, since my university didn’t offer any fashion-related courses or offer a fashion major, I turned to books. The below are my 5 best book recommendations for anyone interested in fashion—whether as a mere hobby or professionally—from my personal library.
“Gods and Kings” by Dana Thomas
Due to my previously mentioned Alexander McQueen fascination, the first fashion book into which I dove was Dana Thomas’ “Gods and Kings: The rise and fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano”.
For someone interested in the fashion industry, “Gods and Kings” provides thorough knowledge on what the fashion world looks like, both on the runway and behind the scenes. Particularly, the book covers the foundational creativity and artistry in fashion which, for me, is the basis upon which I’ve defined much of my fashion-technology research.
“Deluxe” by Dana Thomas
“Deluxe” is perhaps the book to which I attribute the majority of my fashion industry knowledge. Author Dana Thomas provides a fantastic overview of the industry’s transformation—from brands’ and luxury’s origins, to the couture prime days of the 1950s, to todays streetwear, mass-market-logo-goods era.
“Deluxe” is not afraid to critique the industry where it is deserved, and outlines everything you need to know about what’s happened to high-fashion—the good and the ugly—since its inception.
“A Beautiful Fall” by Alicia Drake
I read Drake’s “A Beautiful Fall” during the first COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020; nearly a year and a half before I moved to Paris. The book chronicles the designers that defined both fashion from the 1960s–1980s—and continue to define the industry today: Christian Dior; Karl Lagerfeld; Yves Saint Laurent.
For anyone interested in the history of high-fashion or, in general, Paris, “A Beautiful Fall” is a must-read.
“The Battle of Versailles” by Robin Givhan
Author Robin Givhan’s book revolves around a celebration held at Chateau de Versailles in 1970s Paris, which monumentally brought together designers from the United States and Paris to collaborate, sharing their work together for the very first time.
Through this historical lesson, Givhan shines an important light on the geographical relationship—both the camaraderie and tensions—present in the high-fashion industry, on the United States’ landscape that birthed some of its biggest names in fashion, and on significant shifts that altered the high-fashion industry as we know it.
“Fashionopolis” by Dana Thomas
The third of Thomas’ books, “Fashionopolis” is an eye-opening analysis of the fashion industry’s complicated—well, terrible—relationship with sustainability. Like her previous books, Thomas’ investigations are thorough, wonderfully detailed, and honest, exposing facts difficult—yet important—to read.
Did I miss any of your favorites? Let me know, and I’ll add them to my reading list.
I’m a software engineer based between NYC and Paris, researching the intersection between technology and fashion. Read more of my stuff here, check out my fashion-data books, or feel free to get in touch.
