In the 1980s David Thomas was an unemployed plumber with a seemingly impossible dream: to become a fashion stylist. He ran away to London, landed a job selling cassettes in Tower Records, spent weekends and evenings washing dishes and working as a lavatory attendant, and every spare moment hammering on the doors of fashion editors until one of them opened a tiny crack.

As well as telling the touching and funny story of the Billy Elliot of fashion’s bumpy ride to success, Vanity Project examines the fascinating relationship between the fairytale worlds fashion and celebrity. It describes how the discipline of styling has evolved from the 1980s to now, from the streets of London to the red carpets of Hollywood. This story is told largely in the words of those in the front row seats: actors, musicians, designers, photographers, editors, directors, artists, and music business power brokers. In short, people who have shaped popular culture over more than three decades.

This beautifully designed book features more than 300 iconic images - photographs, sketches, magazine covers, Polaroids, iPhone snaps, and press cuttings - that illustrate the creative process from the mind of the stylist and the client’s brief to the end result. The rich visual archive is brought right up to date with a specially commissioned portfolio of never-before-seen portraits by some of the world’s leading contemporary photographers.

Vanity Project is a tale of stars, of clothes, and of the skill and sweat that goes into creating those glittering moments on stage and screen. Above all, it’s the story of how, with the right kind of help and belief, one boy’s dream came true.

The publisher will donate 10% of the cover price to The Prince’s Trust. The total amount donated to The Prince’s Trust is expected to be GBP5 per book. The Prince’s Trust is a registered charity incorporated by Royal Charter in England and Wales (1079675) and Scotland (SC041198).