Pharrell, Thom Browne and Linda Evangelista are all contributing to a starry season for fashion publishing.
It is fashion month, that season when a certain crowd jets between catwalks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Once everyone is cozily back at home, what better coda than a book — or two — from the bounty of fashion titles adding a little coolness to the fall publishing schedule?
Below, 12 new releases that have generated excitement among the staff of the Styles desk. They swing between subtle and splashy; experimental and reflective; quick reads and deep dives. Any one would make a stylish (or should we say Styles-ish?) addition to your coffee table or reading list.
Most Playful: I Care a Lotta, I Wear Collina Strada
Collina Strada’s environmentally-conscious absurdism is on display in a book that intersperses collages of aliens with advice on composting.
Most Star Power: Linda Evangelista Photographed by Steven Meisel
Those who pored over Vogue’s September issue featuring four of the original supermodels will also lap up this compendium of Steven Meisel’s photographs. Come for the cheekbones, stay for a rumination on the relationship between artist and muse.
Most Air: Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion
The Pulitzer Prize winner Mitchell S. Jackson examines the oversize suits, chains, sneakers and T-shirts that helped basketball style take off. Sneakerheads may also appreciate “A History of Basketball in Fifteen Sneakers” by Russ Bengtson.
Most Monochromatic: Thom Browne: The 20th Anniversary Book
Thom Browne’s first book, which celebrates the subversive suiting for which he is known, would pair well with a shorts suit and a Hector bag.
Most Overdue: Ann Lowe: American Couturier
Elizabeth Way has compiled an appreciation of Ann Lowe, the Black designer who made Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress and many other gowns for New York’s upper crust.
Most Encyclopedic: Shoes A-Z: The Collection of the Museum at FIT
This collection of more than 400 pairs of shoes — Manolos, Louboutins — can be enjoyed without giving up an inch of one’s shoe rack.
Most Bling: Pharrell: Carbon, Pressure & Time: A Book of Jewels
Before he was the creative director for men’s wear at Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams decked out hip-hop stars (including himself) with jewelry. This book may be as close as you will get to trying any of it on.
Most Creative Use of WFH: Carolina Herrera: Colormania: Color and Fashion
Wes Gordon, who is the designer of Carolina Herrera, and Elizaveta Porodina, a photographer, began work in 2020 on this series, which includes images captured over Zoom.
Most Metallic: Yves Saint Laurent: Gold
“It’s the color of the sun,” said Yves Saint Laurent, whose preoccupation with the precious metal was the subject of an exhibition in Paris last year and, now, a book. Those looking for more specific prescriptions from the designer might also consider “The World According to Yves Saint Laurent,” a book of maxims being published this fall.
Most Musical: Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion
To coincide with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Sowmya Krishnamurthy examines the hip-hop tastemakers who fought their way into an exclusionary luxury industry.
Most Front-Row Access: Givenchy: The Complete Collections
This collection of catwalk images from Givenchy shows is certain to appeal to the friend who just bought out the Uniqlo Clare Waight Keller collection (Ms. Keller was a former designer of Givenchy). It also includes designs by John Galliano, Matthew M. Williams and Alexander McQueen.
Doing the Most: More Rick Owens
In a continuation of his first volume of photographs, the designer Rick Owens teams up with the photographer Danielle Levitt to delight in provocation. Prepare for louche poses and leather, daring silhouettes and spikes.
Vanessa Friedman contributed reporting.
