This month sees the publication of a host of extraordinary fashion books, covering topics from John Galliano’s work at Dior to the storied and exciting history of Central Saint Martins
The Dior Sessions: Portraits by Nikolai von Bismarck. Tailored by Kim Jones
As artistic director of Dior Men, British designer Kim Jones is setting a new course at the storied house, creating elegant collections with all the savoir faire of Dior’s long-established womenswear and haute couture. A new Rizzoli-published book, The Dior Sessions, captures his first year at the house through a series of portraits taken by photographer Nikolai von Bismarck of various celebrity and style influencers in Jones’ work. Promising a rare look inside Dior – and Jones’ personal world – the intimate photographs are accompanied by text by AnOther’s fashion features director Alexander Fury. Published by Rizzoli, with proceeds donated to support the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Prada Catwalk: The Complete Collections by Susannah Frankel
Miuccia Prada took the helm of her family’s eponymous label in 1979; in 1988, she presented her first ready-to-wear show. The following three decades would see the designer revolutionise fashion, a process documented in a new book titled Prada Catwalk – written by AnOther’s editor-in-chief Susannah Frankel and based on extensive conversations with Mrs Prada herself – which collates every womenswear runway show, from 1988 to 2018. “[Prada Catwalk is] something of a ‘greatest hits’ riffing on Miuccia Prada’s own obsessions with maid’s uniforms, schoolgirl garb and twists on luxury,” wrote Alexander Fury last week on AnOthermag.com. Published by Thames & Hudson.
Musings on Fashion and Style by Kate Moss
In Santiago, Chile, exists Museo de la Moda, a little-known museum which contains one of the most comprehensive and important fashion collections in the world, from 19th-century Dolman robes to 21st-century Balmain. A new book published by Rizzoli celebrates the collection, drafting prolific British model – and just-as-prolific vintage fashion collector – Kate Moss to edit the tome, which is divided into the “trends” which have inspired her throughout her career. “When I wear vintage I like to mix it up – a Victorian cape with latex trousers, or back in the 90s, I’d wear a 30s dress with trainers,” says Moss. “That’s what this book is about, showing how these historical pieces work today.” Published by Rizzoli.
Chanel: The Impossible Collection by Alexander Fury
Chanel: The Impossible Collection is a celebration of the groundbreaking work Gabrielle Chanel created at her eponymous couture house. For this book, AnOther’s fashion features director Alexander Fury selected 100 Chanel looks that have come to define the house’s history: from its iconic quilted leather bag and two-tone pumps to Karl Lagerfeld’s modern interpretations of Mademoiselle Chanel’s aesthetic. The luxurious tome is part of publishing house Assouline’s ‘Ultimate Collection’, meaning the book has been handbound using traditional techniques and printed on art-quality paper. Published by Assouline on October 18, 2019.
John Galliano for Dior
Few designers before or since have quite matched the theatricality of John Galliano during his tenure as creative director at Dior – “I see myself as a guardian of [Christian Dior’s] spirit, a keeper of his dreams,” the designer once said – now celebrated in a new book published by Thames & Hudson, John Galliano for Dior. Words from American Vogue’s Hamish Bowles and André Leon Talley accompany photographs by Robert Fairer, which capture the designer’s wildly imaginative runway shows and dramatic, colourful creations in a series of previously unseen behind-the-scenes photographs taken from 1998 to 2010. Published by Thames & Hudson in November, 2019.
Shoot for the Moon by Tim Walker
Currently on show at the V&A, Tim Walker: Wonderful Things is an immersive journey into the British photographer’s fantastical world, and marks his largest exhibition yet. A new monograph of the photographer’s work, Tim Walker: Shoot For the Moon, accompanies the show, taking its name from the Norman Vincent Peale quote: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” A follow-up to 2012’s Story Teller, it showcases a darker side to Walker’s oeuvre: “every point must have its counterpoint, day its night, light its dark... Shoot for the Moon draws audiences close to reveal fantasy’s other, darker side,” says the blurb. Published by Thames & Hudson.
Simone Rocha Autumn/Winter 2019
This month sees the launch of the fifth self-published book by Irish designer, Simone Rocha. An exploration of Rocha’s Autumn/Winter 2019 collection by photographer Harley Weir and Dazed’s creative director Robbie Spencer, the publication reflects on “ideas of intimacy, privacy, security and femininity” and features the models who walked in the show earlier this year, including Chloë Sevigny, Lily Cole and Jess Maybury. Images of the work of Louise Bourgeois – Rocha collaborated with the artist’s estate on a series of prints in the collection – are interspersed throughout. A limited run of 1,000 issues is available at Dover Street Market and Simone Rocha stores worldwide. Published by Simone Rocha.
Rick Owens Photographed by Danielle Levitt
“Danielle’s imagery has a clear-eyed honesty and tenderness that I want to align myself with and endorse. The way she has captured what I do is exactly how I want it to be remembered,” says Rick Owens on the publication of new book Rick Owens Photographed by Danielle Levitt. Levitt – an American photographer known for images of those on the fringes of society – captures the most astounding looks from the last decade at his eponymous label, providing a portrait of the designer’s provocative, transgressive, yet undeniably beautiful, work. Published by Rizzoli.
Paul’s Book by Collier Schorr
“Youth is really about the past,” says Collier Schorr. “Youth is not the pool that young men gaze adoringly into; it is the pool that old men gaze in, in order to measure the distance their bodies have travelled.” The American photographer’s newly published book, Paul’s Book, is a study of one of her longtime muses, the French model Paul Hameline, who she has been shooting for nearly two years. Schorr – who recently photographed Naomi Scott for the cover of AnOther Magazine A/W19 – captures Hameline at his home in Paris and in various other places, each portrait intimate and uniquely engaging. Published by MACK.
Fashion Central Saint Martins
With alumni including Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo, Stella McCartney, Kim Jones, John Galliano and Riccardo Tisci, Central Saint Martins is recognised as one of the best institutions teaching fashion in the world. A new book by Hywel Davies, programme director of fashion at the college, and Cally Blackman, lecturer in fashion history and theory, looks at Central Saint Martins’ history since its inception in 1931, via in-depth studies of its graduates, their previously unseen student work and exclusive interviews. Plus, Dover Street Market is stocking exclusive customised versions of Fashion Central Saint Martins, with covers specially decorated by Central Saint Martins graduates, including Simone Rocha, Stephen Jones, Rottingdean Bazaar, and Richard Quinn. Published by Thames & Hudson.
Tokyo Trance by Cecilie Bahnsen
Cecilie Bahnsen is a Copenhagen-based designer, whose hyper-feminine smock dresses have found a devoted following both in her native Denmark and beyond. Like Japan – “from the beginning Japan has been our biggest market, women in the city really connected to what we were doing,” Bahnsen says. A new book, Tokyo Trance, celebrates just this, with photographer Josefine Seifert capturing the designer’s clothes in the Japanese capital on a cast of local models, found on Instagram. “It’s been so fascinating seeing my designs in a Japanese context,” says the designer. “In a sense it’s about going back to the starting point of my inspiration and the place where my collection first found a home in the world.” Published by Cecilie Bahnsen, available at Dover Street Market worldwide with any Cecilie Bahnsen purchase.
Avedon Advertising
Throughout his prolific career, Richard Avedon photographed many advertising campaigns for fashion and beauty brands like Revlon, Chanel, and Calvin Klein (the latter brand’s 1980 denim campaign with Brooke Shields has gone down in fashion history as both controversial and iconic). Avedon’s captivating shots came to define a new era in fashion campaigns, and a new book documents the enduring images that the photographer created over a number of decades: from 1940s beauty shots to 1990s Versace featuring Naomi Campbell and Kristen McMenamy. Published by Abrams.