25 Books About Fashion That Will Make You Think Differently About the Industry
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Fashion is so much more than just the clothes you wear. The industry intersects with practically every aspect of our lives, with major impacts on the economy, the environment, and, yes, daily fit checks—and it’s been doing so for centuries. Thanks to that outsized influence, there are countless fashion films, documentaries about style, and even books about fashion for anyone interested in diving into the industry. Fashion books—including rom-com novels and historical fiction to deeply researched exposés and sociological deep-dives—especially provide a way to learn more about the industry's effects on the wider world or just a way to look at beautiful clothes.
Here, we’ve rounded up 25 of the best fashion books, including must-read memoirs from major names, not one but three fashion-forward novels that have made it to the big screen, and one particularly hefty tome that’ll cost you a pretty penny—but will be the star of any coffee table if you decide to splurge.
'20th Century Fashion: 100 Years of Apparel Ads' by Alison A. Nieder and Jim Heimann
Throughout the 1900s, fashion went through a massive, irreversible transformation, from an extremely exclusive, salon-based industry to a globe-spanning, department store-filling one. That shift is on full display in the century’s clothing ads, as compiled in this almost 600-page tome, which meticulously documents both the ever-evolving styles of the times and the ways that designers learned to reach new customers amid increasing competition.
'The Anticapitalist Book of Fashion' by Tansy E. Hoskins
This Emma Watson-approved pick digs into how, in many ways, the fashion industry serves to reinforce the dangerous ideals of an unchecked capitalist system. As Hoskins suggests, it’s time for a full-on fashion revolution—one that’ll overthrow the current classist, racist, climate-damaging norms.
'The Asylum: True Tales of Madness From a Life in Fashion' by Simon Doonan
Doonan spent more than 30 years at Barneys New York, culminating in a stint as its creative director before the famed department store shuttered in 2019. In this book of essays, he offers an often-hilarious glimpse into the wild world of luxury fashion, in which, according to him, the eccentricity, loyalty, and over-enthusiasm of any true fashion lover created a truly unhinged environment.
'The Battle of Versailles' by Robin Givhan
In 1973, a charity fashion show at the Palace of Versailles pitted five designers from Europe and the U.S. against one another. Against all odds and expectations, the American contingent—Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows—along with their diverse group of supermodels, were declared the victors over Europe’s Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan, officially marking the U.S.’s entry as a major player on the global fashion scene.
'The Chiffon Trenches' by André Leon Talley
Talley’s career as a journalist, stylist, creative director, and general fashion icon stretched nearly half a century. In this memoir, which was published a year before his 2022 death, he takes a walk down memory lane, revisiting not only the high points of his storied career in fashion, but also the racism and cutthroat competition that he had to overcome to make it as far as he did.
'Confessions of a Shopaholic' by Sophie Kinsella
The source material for a popular chick flick, the original book in Kinsella’s bestselling series introduces Becky Bloomwood, the titular shopping addict. Though she works as a financial journalist for Successful Savings magazine, in her own life, she’s deeply in debt, thanks to her reliance on retail therapy to cure all ills. The book is lighthearted and quirky and, of course, has a happy ending—think of it as a palate cleanser for the much heavier material elsewhere on this list.
'The Devil Wears Prada' by Lauren Weisberger
The Devil Wears Prada may be the most beloved movie about the fashion industry, so we obviously had to include the book that inspired it on this list. Though Weisberger’s 2003 novel delves deeper into the main character Andy Sachs’ personal life and those of her friends, it still charts her education in and growing appreciation for the world of fashion while working as an assistant to a truly formidable magazine editor.
'Dressing the Resistance: The Visual Language of Protest Through History' by Camille Benda
Though of course not the most important part, fashion has certainly played a significant role in countless protests and revolutions throughout history. Benda, a costume designer and fashion historian, maps out those trends. She explores everything from the slogan-printed newspaper dresses of suffragettes to the safety pin accessories that came to symbolize the punk movement to the pink “pussy hats” of the #MeToo movement and Women’s March.
'The Dressmaker' by Rosalie Ham
Before it was adapted into a 2015 film starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth, The Dressmaker was Ham’s 2000 debut novel. The genre-bending story is essentially a dark Gothic dramedy, focusing on a woman named Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage who returns to the hometown that exiled her as a child so she can take care of her mother, only to have her past dragged up once again. Amid that mysterious background, Tilly’s expert dressmaking is a major plot point, as she uses it to win favor—to mixed effects—with those who’d previously shunned her.
'The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever' by Teri Agins
Agins’ 2000 book makes the case that as fashion has become a bigger and bigger business, that growth is draining away the industry’s artistry. Essentially, according to the journalist, much of the creativity that would’ve previously gone into actual clothing designs is now poured instead into mass-marketing strategies, and Agins digs into every step of the garment-making process to illustrate the phenomenon.
'Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion' by Sowmya Krishnamurthy
The luxury fashion and hip-hop industries have had something of a symbiotic relationship for decades. With huge names in rap and hip-hop as avid customers and partners of high-end fashion houses, those same designers have in turn taken cues from the streetwear made popular by those artists. Krishnamurthy maps out the major players in both camps to illustrate how hip-hop has irrevocably changed the face of luxury fashion in the last 50 years alone.
'Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters' by Dana Thomas
It’s no secret that fast fashion and overconsumption for the last several decades have had unfathomable consequences on the environment, labor practices, and the state of creativity itself. Rather than harping on about those daunting issues, however, Thomas’ 2020 book takes a more optimistic approach, focusing on the individuals and companies that are working toward a more sustainable future in fashion.
'Frida Kahlo: Fashion as the Art of Being' by Susana Martínez Vidal
An attention-grabbing coffee table book, this compilation includes 150 photos of the iconic artist’s bright, colorful clothes, often paired alongside her works of art reflecting the same hues and patterns. Throughout, Vidal describes how Kahlo used her unique aesthetic and singular sense of style to make a statement wherever she went—and how her legacy lives on in modern-day fashions.
'Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano' by Dana Thomas
Both McQueen and Galliano were hailed as superstars when they each burst on the scene in the ‘90s and proceeded to take the fashion world by storm. Less than two decades later, however, that had all changed, as McQueen tragically died by suicide and Galliano was (briefly) exiled from the industry after expressing anti-Semitic views. Thomas details the ups and downs of both designers’ careers, setting them against the backdrop of the transformation of luxury fashion that was also occurring at the time.
'The Impossible Collection of Fashion' by Valerie Steele
Compiled by the director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, this coffee table book is filled with gorgeous, glossy photos of and fascinating information about 100 dresses that changed the world. Sure, the book will set you back a cool $1,050, but that’s still way less than the cost of many of the garments documented inside!
'The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew' by Maggie Bullock
Bullock’s 2023 book offers exactly what its subtitle suggests: an intensely researched, behind-the-scenes look—backed by dozens of interviews with company alums and industry experts—at how J.Crew built up a reputation as a lifestyle-defining brand throughout the second half of the 20th century, then saw it all almost crumble to the ground amid the “retail apocalypse” that hit fashion in the 2010s.
'The Last Collection' by Jeanne Mackin
As World War II ramped up, Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli were building a serious rivalry to rule Paris’ fashion scene. Mackin’s novel places a young American woman in between the two designers, giving a (fictionalized) insider’s look at their intense fight for dominance amid the backdrop of the looming war.
'Making It in America' by Rachel Slade
Just a few short decades ago, textile manufacturing made up a massive part of the American economy. That work has been increasingly outsourced overseas, however, amid growing demand for cheaper labor and materials. Slade’s 2024 book follows one couple’s shockingly difficult journey toward a deceptively simple goal: producing a sweatshirt that’s ethically and American-made—by union-backed employees, with materials entirely sourced from the U.S.
'Miss Dior: A Wartime Story of Courage and Couture' by Justine Picardie
Most fashion lovers are familiar with Christian Dior, his namesake fashion house, and his “New Look,” but it’s much less likely that you’ve heard the story of his younger sister Catherine. Picardie turned the spotlight on Catherine in this 2021 biography, detailing her experiences as a French Resistance fighter during World War II, as a concentration camp survivor, and, after the war, as a flower trader and farmer, and a major influence on her brother’s designs.
'Our Shoes, Our Selves' by Bridget Moynahan and Amanda Benchley
This compilation celebrates the powerful meaning that a simple pair of shoes can have on a woman’s life. Accompanied by glossy photos of both the subjects and their favorite footwear, it includes short stories from each of 40 famous women describing the significance of a chosen pair of shoes, featuring memories from the likes of Misty Copeland, Katie Couric, Bobbi Brown, and dozens more.
'Sneaker Freaker: The Ultimate Sneaker Book' by Simon Wood
You don’t have to be a reader of the iconic Sneaker Freaker magazine or even a sneakerhead at all to appreciate this gorgeous coffee table book. Compiled by the magazine’s founder, the hefty seven-pound, 672-page tome is packed with a thorough history of the last 100 years of footwear trends, plus fascinating insider intel about the biggest drops in recent memory.
'Tales From the Back Row' by Amy Odell
This one’s for anyone who’s ever stared longingly at photos from Fashion Week, wishing for a chance to join in on that particular brand of chic chaos. Billed as “an outsider’s view from inside the fashion industry,” the journalist’s memoir not only gives readers the scoop on what it’s really like to make it in the industry—and offers advice to do the same—but also reflects on what the wild world of fashion says about humanity itself.
'Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion' by Eleanor Medhurst
In this 2024 LGBTQ+ book, Medhurst writes about how the fashion choices of queer women throughout history have largely been overlooked but can say quite a lot about their lives and changing societal status over time. It shines a much-needed spotlight on an entire group that’s too often been overshadowed, celebrating the ever-evolving style of the lesbian community, from 17th-century royals to modern-day LGBTQ+ rights activists, and everyone in between.
'A Visible Man' by Edward Enninful
Though he’s now the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Enninful’s life hasn’t always been glamorous. As he describes in this 2022 memoir, he grew up as a working-class refugee, and then, as an openly gay Black man, chose to enter into an industry that hasn’t always been the most welcoming to those who don’t fit into its very limited mold. Triumphing over those challenges, however, has made Enninful into a serious changemaker: As the first Black editor-in-chief of the magazine, he’s worked hard to make its pages more inclusive, featuring a refreshingly broad variety of models, designers, and photographers in every issue.
'When Women Ran Fifth Avenue' by Julie Satow
In the golden age of department stores, in mid-20th century America, though men owned the stores themselves, they were often run by powerful women. This 2024 book zooms in on three of those women in particular—Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller, Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor, and Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel—all of whom ended up making a major impact on the way Americans dressed and shopped.
