This season’s crop of newly published coffee table books are as stylish as they are engaging. Whether it’s Tom Ford chronicling the evolution of his eponymous brand, a vibrant celebration of Danish label Ganni or legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz’s account of her encounters with fashion, here’s our edit of the most stylish new coffee table books that will make a statement in any sitting room.
Fashion Coffee Table Books To Gift This Winter
Seventeen years after Tom Ford debuted his book, Tom Ford, which chronicled his years as creative director at Gucci, the designer has published Tom Ford 002. A visual celebration of the eponymous brand that he founded in 2005, the second volume is as stunning as the first. With a foreword by Anna Wintour, introduction by Graydon Carter and an interview with Ford by Executive Editor of Women’s Wear Daily Bridget Foley, the book’s style credentials are second-to-none. “Tom’s success is so monumental, his vision of fashion so sure and unerring, that it is impossible to overstate his achievements,” opines Wintour.
The beautifully slip-cased 444-page book is also punctuated with commentary from Ford himself, as he opens up about his career, including his two feature films A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals, and the conception and evolution of his brand. But it’s the visuals which steal the show, with the glossy pages packed full of celebrities wearing the designer, from Julianne Moore to Rihanna. Advertising campaigns shot by Steven Klein, Inez & Vinoodh, Nick Knight and Mert & Marcus, as well as portraits of the designer and his family, add to the polish.
£95, Rizzoli
Fashion in the 1990s was all about the supermodel, notably the big six – Cindy, Naomi, Linda, Christy, Kate and Claudia. Which is why, when one of them – Claudia Schiffer – curates a book of fashion photography from that illustrious decade, you take notice. Captivate! is being billed as Schiffer’s “personal photographic journey” with over 150 images encapsulating an era that ran the gamut of glam to grunge, functional to feminine.
Alongside work by photographic greats such as Arthur Elgort, Corinne Day, Herb Ritts and Richard Avedon, you’ll find essays from the likes of Carine Roitfeld and Ellen Von Unwerth, and input from leading industry figures such as Edward Enninful, Grace Coddington and Donatella Versace. All bring to life a decade that saw the worlds of fashion, music, entertainment and art collide to create some of the most iconic moments in sartorial history. The book accompanies the first ever exhibition curated by Schiffer at Kunstpalast Düsseldorf – the city where Schiffer was first discovered – which runs until 9 January 2022.
£49.99, Prestel
London-born Nadine Ijewere first fell in love with photography when she was a little girl, going on to study at the London College of Fashion. Successfully combining the two, she is now one of today’s most sought-after fashion photographers. She’s worked with Dior to Hermès, The Wall Street Journal to Garage magazine, while her photographs have hung in Tate Britain, and at Unseen Amsterdam and LagosPhoto.
So it’s surprising this is the first book to be dedicated to Ijewere, with over 160 photographs charting her formidable career. An essay by Dazed’s Executive Editorial Director Lynette Nylander further gives insight into how Ijewere has helped deconstruct stereotyping within the industry. “My work has always had underlying themes of identity and diversity, celebrating our differences, reframing what beauty has stereotypically been and creating a space to elevate women of color,” she says. Indeed, Ijewere was the first black woman to shoot the cover of Vogue in the magazine’s 125-year global history, when she photographed Binx Walron, Letitia Wright and Dua Lipa in 2018.
£39.99, Prestel
In just over a decade, husband-and-wife team Ditte and Nicolaj Reffstrup have built Ganni into one of Denmark’s most celebrated fashion houses. Based out of Copenhagen, the cult label is known as much for its vibrant prints and structured silhouettes as it is for its creativity and individuality.
As you’d expect, the brand’s debut monograph, Ganni: Gimme More, packs a punch. Shining a light on both the creative process, as well as the label’s ethos of responsibility and inclusivity, the book brings together photographers, stylists, designers and artists to tell the Ganni story. In one chapter you might find an essay by Susie Lau on what it means to be a #Gannigirl, in another you can read founder Nicolaj’s reflection on sustainability and the future of fashion. And, of course, it is printed on sustainable FSC certified paper and the individual carbon footprint of each book has been carbon compensated.
£40, Rizzoli
The life of Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo is a colourful one. Born in 1898 in south Italy, he studied shoemaking in Naples before moving to America to design footwear for the stars of the silver screen. In 1927 Ferragamo returned to Italy, where he founded the eponymous House which was to become the major global fashion brand we know today.
This is a new and completely updated edition of Ferragamo’s autobiography that traces the journey of a man who, from humble beginnings, put Italy on the fashion map. The book is packed with anecdotes about the Hollywood stars and devotees Ferragamo encountered, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo among them. “We can all walk happily wearing comfortable, refined, splendid shoes. This is my whole life’s work: learning to make perfect shoes, refusing to put my name on those that aren’t,” he once said.
$30, Rizzoli
American photographer Annie Leibovitz is known the world over for her celebrity portraiture, but this is the first book that focuses solely on her encounters with fashion. Showcasing work for Rolling Stone in the 1970s right up to the present day, via shoots for Vogue and Vanity Fair in the Eighties, Wonderland is a visual homage to a career that has spanned five decades – and counting.
Over 340 photographs have been brought together for the purpose of the book, including images that have never been published. There are the incredibly ambitious fashion shoots – including looks by designers such as Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. Then there are, of course, her portraits covering everyone from models (Kate Moss, Karen Elson) and designers (Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld) to Serena Williams, Lady Gaga and the Queen. Images are accompanied by a backstory from Leibovitz herself and she has also written her own preface, pontificating on how her career has developed and evolved over the last half century.
£69.95, Phaidon
