Fabulous fashion books to inspire your style
Get off Pinterest, put away the magazines and forget the influencers. These fashion books will give you all the inspiration you need to see your wardrobe in a new light and curate a personal style that will put the runways to shame.
For the maximalists
Colourful by Iris Apfel
In the summer of 2023, as Iris Apfel welcomed her 102nd birthday, she put pen to paper to write this very special project: what Iris called her legacy book.
Comprising of over 200 personal photos and adorned with beautiful, unseen fabric patterns from her Old World Weaver’s collection, Iris’s incredible energy radiates from every page. Here she shares her creative work, life stories, adventures, and her unwavering belief in the essential power of colour and creativity on a life well lived.
Drag Queens Down Under by Art Simone
A glorious celebration of life in drag through the eyes of our most prominent drag superstars.
Featuring a diverse range of artists from across Australia, with stunning photographs and stories about being as fierce as a drag queen, both on and off the stage.
Written and curated by the iconic Art Simone, this anthology is a visual feast for the eyes for all fans of drag, cultivating authenticity and championing utter fabulousness.
Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton
In Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world.
Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton's life and career, and the largest ever reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now. The sky-high heels, famous wigs, bold makeup, eye-catching stage clothes – she shares them all.
For the fashion historians
The adidas Archive by Sebastian Jäger and Christian Habermeier
More than 100 years ago the brothers Adolf ("Adi") and Rudolf Dassler made their first pair of sports shoes. Hundreds of groundbreaking designs, epic moments, and star-studded collabs later, this book presents a visual review of the adidas shoe through almost 200 models.
Accompanied by expert texts, each picture tells us the why and the how, but also conveys the driving force behind adidas. What we discover goes beyond mere design; in the end, these are just shoes, worn out by their users who have loved them – but they are also first-hand witnesses of our sports, design, and culture history, from the beginnings of the Dassler brothers and the founding of adidas until today.
The Art of Fashion by Michal Goldschmidt
A captivating visual exploration of fashion and modern style as seen through the eyes of artists across the globe.
Since the emergence of the seasonal fashion industry in the nineteenth century, Western artists have been engaging with fashion's impact, meaning and forms in their artwork.
Discover the relationship between the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the creation of the London department store Liberty; the free advertising Burberry received in paintings of the First World War, and how London's 'Swinging Sixties' scene led to the creation of some of the most important and powerful artworks of the twentieth century.
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
At a moment of unprecedented creativity in men’s fashion, and continuing reflections on gender, contemporary designers are questioning established forms, seeking to liberate wearers from traditional models of masculine dress. This book combines fashion with artistic and broader cultural histories – looking at the designers, tailors and artists who have constructed and performed masculinity from the Renaissance to the present day. It traces connections across and beyond European menswear, celebrating both rich traditions and daring individualists.
To inspire your sustainable fashion journey
Wear Next by Clare Press
The current fashion system is wasteful, environmentally harmful and exploitative. And, if we carry on as we do now, it could account for a quarter of global emissions by 2050. But creative thinkers are dreaming up new ways to craft our sartorial identities that don't wreck the planet.
Vogue's first sustainability editor, Clare Press, introduces us to the fascinating innovators who are redesigning fashion from the ground up and changing it in the most fundamental ways.
How To Be Fabulous by Charlotte Dallison
Defy trends and unlock your personal style with How To Be Fabulous, a new breed of fashion guide that dives into the world of pre-loved clothing and inspires you to get creative on any budget.
Learn all the insider tips and tricks from ex-vintage dealer, podcaster, writer and fashion aficionado Charlotte Dallison. Sprinkled with sparkling expert tricks, gorgeous illustrations and sage tales from Charlotte's own vintage adventures, this stunning little fashion guide will become your new style bible.
Sundressed: Natural Fibres and the Future of Fashion by Lucianne Tonti
Fashion is ready for a revolution. Many brands claim to be ‘sustainable’, but they are not. Far too many clothes are produced, and in ways that harm the Earth.
The solution? Regenerative farming of natural fabrics such as cotton, wool, flax and cashmere. In this original and superbly written book, Lucianne Tonti takes readers to the farms and fashion houses that are creating a truly eco-friendly industry. She uncovers a growing hive of activity worldwide, from mulberry groves in China to cotton collectives in California, and from Mongolian goatherds to Australian sheep farmers.
If we grasp their potential, natural fabrics will revolutionise how we dress.
To help you make your home as stylish as your wardrobe
This Creative Life: Fashion Designers at Home by Robyn Lea
In this lush, illustrated book for lovers of fashion and interior design, bestselling photographer and author Robyn Lea opens the door to the private spaces where some of the world's top fashion designers live their best creative lives.
At-home photographs and profiles of twenty fashion professionals from around the globe, give readers an intimate and authentic portrayal of creativity outside the studio or the office. Revealing the ultimate spaces for creative living, This Creative Life encourages and inspires the reader to live their very own way.
Style: The Art of Creating a Beautiful Home by Natalie Walton
Style: The Art of Creating a Beautiful Home is a timeless interiors book that shows you how to transform your living spaces using what you own and love. While designing can be a big investment, styling allows you to elevate your spaces with what you’ve already got.
This book is at once beautiful and practical, demystifying the creative process of styling so that you can create a beautiful home with confidence. Based on more than a decade of industry experience and teaching, this book will show you how to connect with your own personal style and enjoy inspiring, welcoming and authentic interiors.
A Room of Her Own by Robyn Lea
A Room of Her Own features the dazzling homes of twenty extraordinary women around the globe. Across sitting rooms and studios, salon-style hangs and table settings, this is a book of daring inspiration.
In this new Renaissance period – a time of artistic, cultural and intellectual rebirth – these women have chosen to carve out their own space to live creatively. Artists, designers, makers and curators invite us into their domestic and professional domains to reveal a world of meaning and purpose beyond status and consumerism.
