The 9 Books That Helped Me Learn About Fashion

Recommendations from my very fashionable bookshelf.

When I was a computer science major in college, I didn’t know anything about fashion. But after watching the McQueen documentary and knowing that the fashion industry—with all its creativity and artistry and nuance—was something I had to become a part of, I had a lot of catching up to do. Where could I even begin to learn about a centuries-old industry that touches billions of people worldwide and which intersects so deeply with global culture?

While the Business of Fashion podcast and keeping up with Vogue.com certainly helped, by far the best way I learned about the fashion industry, and thoroughly, was through reading books. Below are my best fashion book recommendations, in no particular order.

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

I’ve previously written about how the fashion industry has become more mass; how it has shifted from exclusive, custom-made haute-couture gowns that sell for the tens of thousands to, today, the ability to buy into the luxury dream for a couple-hundred-dollar T-shirt or keychain.

Dana Thomas’ Deluxe chronicles exactly this; how luxury evolved from a super-exclusive industry for a select few to the conglomerate-driven, mass business it is today. Or, how it lost its luster. This is perhaps the most thorough overview of fashion and luxury’s past and present, and a great resource for anyone just getting started learning about the industry who might not know where to begin.

The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir

The Chiffon Trenches is the memoir of one of fashion’s greatest journalists and creatives, André Leon Talley. In it, he gives an honest recollection of the highs and lows of his career, from breaking into the fashion industry to eventually becoming Vogue’s first African American male creative director and, later, Vogue’s editor-at-large.

Talley also transports us back to a time when fashion magazines reigned supreme, with unlimited budgets, first-class flights, and all the glitz and glamour you can imagine. While, of course, revealing the nuances of navigating an industry full of both abundance and exclusivity. I think I read this one in only two days.

Fashionopolis: The Price Of Fast Fashion And The Future Of Clothes

It’s no secret that the fashion industry has a huge sustainability problem. Dana Thomas’ Fashionopolis offers transparency into just how detrimental that sustainability problem is, how we got here, and how, if at all, we can get out.

This should be a must-read for anyone interested in pursuing fashion—understanding how the clothes we buy at fast-fashion and luxury brands alike impact the environment both around us and in countries far away. It’s a thought-provoking exposé on how an industry which appears so glamorous has quite a dark cloud behind it.

Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes

For anyone who might still question the meaning of fashion or if it even has any, Dressed offers some great proof. Author Shahidha Bari breaks down the philosophy and purpose behind an industry which is often assumed to be superfluous and vain.

Dressed is perhaps one of the most detailed books on this list, as Bari unpacks how outfits and looks prominent across culture—from movies to art to our daily lives—possess a deeper meaning than we might assume. It urges readers to consider how every outfit, no matter how simple, often represents something far greater.

Make it Ours: Crashing The Gates of Culture With Virgil Abloh

I read Robin Givhan’s Make it Ours just a couple of months ago—I ran to Shakespeare & Company in Paris to grab a copy days after it was published, I couldn’t wait. And it was certainly worth it. Make it Ours outlines the career of one of fashion’s most important designers, Virgil Abloh, most remembered for his own label, Off-White, as well as for being the first Black creative director at Louis Vuitton.

Givhan also provides a thorough overview of fashion’s changing landscape, which Abloh helped shape, and how he found a place within it to thrive. For anyone interested in a recent history of fashion and its conglomerates, couture versus street style, and what it takes to be a groundbreaking designer in the modern day, I cannot recommend this book enough.

The Beautiful Fall: Fashion, Genius, And Glorious Excess In 1970s Paris

Alicia Drake’s The Beautiful Fall is an incredible story of Paris in the 1970s, and the fashion that was shaping the city. It focuses on two of the industry’s most iconic talents—Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld—as they dominated Paris’ left and right bank, respectively.

It’s a wonderful read for lovers of Paris, art history, and, of course, fashion. Drake’s storytelling will transport you back to a time when the industry was quite glamorous and rapidly expanding, set against the backdrop of fashion’s most important capital.

Dress Code: Unlocking Fashion From The New Look to Millennial Pink

Véronique Hyland’s Dress Code is a must-read. Similar to Deluxe, it gives an overview of the fashion industry’s past and present by chronicling some of the biggest trends and moments which helped define it.

Hyland also provides thorough insights on how social media and its widespread use have affected, and continue to affect, style and taste. This is a great read for anyone excited to dive in and learn about the industry as a whole, and to explore the nuances that make fashion such a marvelous yet complex space today.

The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled Into The Spotlight And Made History

Even though European—and specifically, Parisian—fashion houses continue to be seen as dominant forces in the industry today, there was a time not too long ago when American brands weren’t even part of the discussion. Robin Givhan’s The Battle of Versailles details the night where that all changed forever.

Givhan takes us back to the fall of 1973 when five of America’s top designers—Anne Klein, Bill Blass, Halston, Stephen Burrows, and Oscar de la Renta—faced off against top Parisian houses. Think Givenchy, Cardin, Yves Saint Laurent. And, of course, how this ushered in a new era of American brands attracting the fashion world’s attention, too.

Gods and Kings: The Rise And Fall Of Alexander McQueen And John Galliano

Another Dana Thomas favorite, Gods and Kings was actually the first fashion book I ever read. After watching the McQueen documentary I knew I needed to learn as much about fashion, and as much about McQueen, as possible. Dana Thomas’ Gods and Kings was a great place to continue.

This book gives a detailed overview of the great rivalry of the late 90s and early 2000s between two of fashion’s greatest designers, Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. It’s a looking glass into how such strong creative talents attempted to navigate an industry that was becoming more business-driven and conglomerate-owned by the day. It also sheds an important light on fashion’s fast-paced and super-competitive nature which, while it might have improved since the early 2010s, is still prevalent today.