With the new season comes a series of fresh-off-the-presses fashion books. With their gleaming photographs and insightful essays and anecdotes, these publications are as eye-catching as they are inspirational. From a vibrant celebration of Carolina Herrera to a deep dive into the creative journey of Diane Von Furstenberg and a striking volume from Carine Roitfeld, these fashion books are a coffee table must-have.
new fashion books
Fantasies: Carine Roitfeld Fashion Book
Since her decade-long tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld has been busy. Long celebrated as one of the most influential figures in fashion, in addition to returning to freelance styling, she’s set up a successful fragrance line and launched her own media group with a biannual magazine CR Fashion Book. The publication celebrates the intersection of style, culture and creativity, priding itself on propelling fashion into new, unexpected, often daring, directions.
This striking hardcover volume is pure Roitfeld, reflecting her idiosyncratic vision and fearless approach across celebrity, religion, cinema, sex, music and inclusivity. Risqué imagery of icons from Lily-Rose Depp and Zendaya to Megan Thee Stallion and Lady Gaga, photographed by the greats including Mario Sorrenti and Mert and Marcus fills the pages, with exclusive content featuring Roitfeld, Riccardo Tisci and Gigi Hadid.
Published by Rizzoli, $150
Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman Before Fashion
In January 1970, designer Diane Von Furstenberg showed her prototype of a flattering, ready-to-wear jersey wrap dress to the legendary director of American Vogue Diana Vreeland. Vreeland, sensing it was destined to be a huge success story, encouraged the Belgian designer to launch it onto the world. The rest is history. It became an instant phenomenon and, to date, a remarkable five million DVF wrap dresses have been sold.
This visually arresting fashion book celebrates the journey of both Von Furstenberg and the brand and how – over the past five decades – they’ve become adroit at creating designs that empower women, weaving feminism and activism into the label’s DNA. Archive and contemporary images litter the pages (presented in three different paper stocks), including photos of the wrap dress worn by everyone from Jerry Hall to Naomi Campbell.
Original essays and personal anecdotes from the likes of Cindy Crawford complete a fascinating tale of the inimitable designer and how a single dress inspired and continues to inspire generations of women.
Published 26 September by Rizzoli, £55
Carolina Herrera: Color Mania
Over the past four decades the house of Carolina Herrera – under the helm of Creative Director Wes Gordon since 2018 – has been synonymous with strong silhouettes and a bold use of colour, designed to encapsulate the confidence and exuberance of the Herrera woman.
This vibrant legacy has been captured by the artist and photographer Elizaveta Porodina in a collaborative series of images, first taken in 2020 (all over Zoom) to capture the brand’s Resort and Spring 2022 collections.
These ethereal, fantastical, painting-like images now fill the pages of Color Mania, which see both models and dancers wear key pieces from the collections, their bold floral prints, bold hues and voluminous silhouettes depicted in a dreamy, otherworldly light. With an introduction by Vogue’s Edward Enninful, this kaleidoscopic, optimistic fashion book is a must-have.
Published by Rizzoli, £80
Burberry
Alexander Fury is no stranger to penning tomes on fashion, having written many times about the likes of Dior and Chanel. This time the eminent journalist, author and critic turns his attention to a quintessentially British label with his book Burberry.
The richly illustrated volume celebrates the house’s 165 years, starting when the family-run company was founded in 1856 by a 21-year-old Thomas Burberry, to the global luxury behemoth it is today.
Each of the five chapters looks at the notable events and emblems for which Burberry is so widely recognised, notably the signature trench coat and that distinct Check and how, over the years, they’ve evolved in every collection. With over 200 illustrations, this is a must-have for anyone interested in the house’s history and craftsmanship.
Published by Assouline, £150
Dior by Raf Simons
Belgian designer Raf Simons may only have been Creative Director at Christian Dior for three-and-a-half years – between 2012 and 2015 – but the impact he had on the Parisian couture house was significant.
From his debut to his departure, his collections were critically acclaimed for bringing a contemporary edge, representing Simons’s strong belief that fashion – even couture – should be wearable. They were also hugely profitable with the maison enjoying a substantial rise in sales while he was at the helm.
The glossy Dior by Raf Simons is the sixth volume in a series of books devoted to each designer of the house of Dior and showcases Simons’s innovative and streamlined approach. With photographs by Laziz Hamani and text by Tim Blanks, editor-at-large for The Business of Fashion, this is a must-have fashion coffee table book.
Published by Assouline, £150
More Rick Owens
Rick Owens is often referred to as the godfather of goth glam, his daring, grunge-meets-glamour designs long an A-lister favourite. This new book of photographs picks up where Rizzoli’s previous monograph on the American fashion designer’s work left off, documenting from Owen’s AW19 collection inspired by the cult 70s designer Larry Legaspi right through to the pandemic, when he staged shows on the Lido di Venezia.
In this, a continuing collaboration with photographer Danielle Levitt, the stunning images perfectly encapsulate this “fertile and transformational” period in his career – one that saw him experiment with shape, new and excotic materials and colour, a profligacy of pink, orange, blue, green, and iridescent hues vying with his trademark black, oxblood, and dust.
Published 26 September by Rizzoli, £50
Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections
This is the ninth in a series of coffee table books that offer a comprehensive overview of the world’s top fashion houses and their collections. Here, Givenchy is in the spotlight, with 632 pages devoted to the maison founded by the dashing Hubert de Givenchy in 1952. It charts the early years, when the house was synonymous with effortless elegance, as embodied by Givenchy’s muse and great friend Audrey Hepburn (he designed the key costumes for Breakfast at Tiffany’s).
The fashion book also documents the tenures of John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, followed by Riccardo Tisci and Clare Waight Keller, right up to the present day with Matthew Williams at the helm. Expect history, archive photos and catwalk images in abundance, in what is the only monograph in print on the house of Givenchy.
Published 16 November by Thames & Hudson, £60
