Books! Whether you pour over their written word, leaf through their pictures or simply tote them around under your arm. Whether you settle down with one in a quiet corner, a crowded train carriage, a café, a gallery, or at home, books (coffee table or just plain paperback) have the means to inspire and enthuse, prompting you to be creative. And in fashion speak, that means to fix your face, string together a new ensemble, take a photograph, shoot a short film… you get the idea.
Dare I say the following books, both old and new, will do just that.
The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion
by Harold Koda and Kohle Yohannan
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Released to coincide with an exhibition of the same name held last year at NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion features prominent models from 1947 to 1997 and explores their role in shaping fashion imagery in their respective eras. Names such as Peggy, Twiggy, Jerry, Linda, Christy and Kate appear care of the book chronicling each decade and the fashion trends that dominated.
Perfumes: The A-Z Guide
by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez
Penguin
Critical acclaim has followed this book since its release in 2008. Said to be the first of its kind to debunk the myths and mysteries that surround the world of fragrance, it guides the reader through hundreds of scents, their ingredients, their ad campaigns and their makers.
Paris Vogue: Covers 1920-2009
by Sonia Rachline and Carine Roitfeld
Thames and Hudson
Archiving some ninety years worth of Paris Vogue covers, some illustrated by the likes of Lepape, Gruau and Benito, others shot by photogrpahers such as Man Ray, Steichen, Newton, Bourdin and Testino, this tome is a vivid library of images that recollect some of fashion’s most daring, forward-thinking and iconic moments.
Mademoiselle - Coco Chanel / Summer 62
by Karl Lagerfeld and Douglas Kirkland
Steidl
Mademoiselle is a collection of photographs that document Coco Chanel going about her daily life in 1962: in the salon, her apartment and on the street. According to Karl Lagerfeld, “Images left behind are in the end stronger than truth and facts. Through Kirkland’s images we can imagine what the famous Coco had been all about before she became the formidable Chanel.”
Making Faces
by Kevyn Aucoin
Reuter
Flipping through Making Faces changed my life; I’d not seen anything like it before; I went from wanting to design clothing to painting faces in a nanosecond. Ten years on and the late Kevyn Aucoin’s work is still relevant, still beautiful, still inspiring and compliments his make-up range perfectly. Seek out his first book Face Forward, and Kevyn Aucoin a Beautiful Life: The Success, Struggles, and Beauty Secrets of a Legendary Makeup Artist as well.
Heads - Hair by Guido
by Guido Palau
Guido is still one of the most sought-after session stylists in the world, having time and time again redefined hair by pushing it to new levels with never-before-seen techniques. His handywork in Heads, shot by the likes of David Sims, proved hair-based images could be just as captivating as ‘fashion’ images.