I absolutely love books! I love everything about them, from reading them to collecting them and just being surrounded by books, so much so, I even designed a collection inspired by them (Check out my collection Uncovered on the home page!). Reading is clearly a key point of inspiration for me and is excellent for researching and staying on top of the world of fashion. These books are my top five favorite design or design related books that I turn to time and time again for inspiration or to brush up on my skills.
1) Fashion: A History from the 18th to 20th Century The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute
My version of this exquisite collection comes in two amazing volumes and I have had these forever. The pages have beautiful photographs of the Kyoto Costume Institute's extensive and impressive collection of historical costume, giving a real window into of clothes of the past. These were some of the first fashion books I got and they simply captured my imagination. While turning through pages, I am always blown away by the beauty of each and every garment and equally impressed at how well each piece in the collection has survived over centuries. In college, they came in very handy, providing lots and lots of information for research papers and inspiration for design details as well. Overall, I rate these as a must have!
2) 9 Heads A Guide to Fashion Drawing by Nancy Riegleman
This book is just so amazing and an excellent too for learning how to illustrate fashion. When I was in middle school, I got 9 Heads as a gift and started to teach myself how to draw the fashion figure. The illustrations are amazing, giving plenty of tips on how to draw everything from the figure, faces, fabrics, and technical flats. I also love Colors for Modern Fashion Drawing Fashion With Colored Markers, also by Nancy Riegleman, which I use as a companion to 9 Heads. While 9 Heads provides a guide on drawing the fashion figure and everything that goes along with fashion drawing, this book shows how to complete an illustration with markers, which is beautiful with all the vivid colors and wonderful techniques.
3) 100 Dresses The Costume Institute The Metropolitian Museum of Art
Since I am such a history nerd, I have a lot of books on costume history. This is also how I get a lot of fun history facts! 100 Dresses is great because it gives a broad view of historical fashion but in an easy to read way. The selection of dresses provides the perfect peek at each time period and really showcases the stunning pieces from The Costume Institute's Collection. I have loved this fun read so much and when I went to the MET Exhibit last summer, ManusxMachina, I was so excited to see many of the dresses I read about in the book at the exhibit. I went with my Dad and he was very good about listening to my babbling of fashion and historical commentary or patiently waiting while I took endless photos of my most favorite pieces.
4) Fashion Designer's Sketchbooks by Hywel Davies
Working in a sketchbook is a huge part of the design process and it really is a visual journal for a designer. Fashion Designer's Sketchbooks gives great insight into the process other designers have while creating their designs. A wide range of designers are highlighted and you can see how everyone documents their ideas. The pages of full sized photographs are a beautiful behind the scenes look at a designer's thought process and really jump off the page. This served as a great point of inspiration for experimenting in my own sketchbook, showing that this is just as important as the collection that comes from the research. All of the different sketchbooks featured in the book are really amazing and just really wonderful to look at.
5) Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Savage Beauty is one my absolute favorites and just might be one of the coolest books I own. I love Savage Beauty not only for the beautiful clothing pictured on the pages, but for the beautiful book itself. The cover is just so unique, when I have it out, the holograph always catches my eye and I can't help but look through it again and again. Alexander McQueen's designs are all so stunning and push the boundaries of fashion, whenever I am in the need of some inspiration or motivation, I flip through this book and get lost in the stories the late designer's collections tell. It is a wonderful read for designers and fashion or art lovers, it is just marvelous.
I am an avid reader, so these are just a few of the books I treasure, it was hard to pick just this handful. There will plenty more highlights of some my favorite reads from my fashion library to come!
As always, thanks for reading!