Words+Bindings - The Fashion Books Thread

[Fuuma]

Got a few things thanks to this thread + stuff I had in my wish list:
Less is more: minimalism in fashion
Wolfgang Tillman: Neue Welt
Claude Montana: fashion radical
Francesca Woodman
Rinko Kawauchi: Illuminance
The red book (I know I suggested it but I saw an associated expo and never bothered to actually buy the book)


Will post short reviews of the Claude Montana and Woodman book, I think the rest have been covered.

 

[Parker]

Is this the one where they discuss YSL's logo design and evolution? If so it's a pretty good book, don't own it though...

No YSL stuff in this one. Mostly identity and look books for smaller brands. But speaking of YSL, the retrospective book seems pretty nice. I browsed it once, but didn't buy it.


The YSL logo was originally done in the early 60s by Cassadre. Yves introduced a more commercial looking logo later for his RTW line. Apparently Hedi and Co. looked to that one for inspiration for his rebrand of SLP. I don't mind it (as I fall into the Helvetica fan camp), except for the font for "PARIS" which seems to have no prior YSL context and is a crusty 19th c. American typeface called Copperplate.

 

[sipang]



I have the multiple book edition and it is definitely more practical when you want to lug around just one book, anyway no matter what you pick this is in Fuuma's approved top 10 photog books.

Ok, I thought they might be different editions so I was mostly wondering about the content, if it's the exact same book simply split up in several volumes it's all good.

Cool, will find some time during the week to do so (It's pretty big...and HEAVY!).
Thanks and yeah I agree completely. I thought the exact same thing when I first got to those pages.

It is just a shame though that it seems like the actual fashion houses themselves are not that interested in properly archiving and/or making the resulting archive available to enthusiasts to browse or what have you. Something like the Massimo book LE where actual fabrics from the studio are being used as the book cover is more the sort of thing I would have loved to see fashion houses doing. Sort of like how modern videogame studios have concept art books and so on released which at least chronicles and preserves one aspect of the creative process in that field, or movies with behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews. So much is just lost to either people's wardrobes or memories with nothing but the odd scrap of an editorial here or there marking the passage of some really great designs.

Anyway, c'est la vie.

They probably don't see a market for it.

I think the demand for behind-the-scenes features and the interest for the creative process and all that kind of sutff makes more immediate sense in the case of other creative disciplines/arts like those you mentioned.
And I think this enthusiasm you speak of is a fairly recent phenomenon (all things relative) at least partially spurred by (broadband) internet which gave a venue to express this interest that no doubt existed before but not to such extent and without that kind of visibility. People gained access to visual content that was until then limited to books or magazines, they started to collect and share that stuff and that's when a desire to preserve or archive, organize, dig deeper appeared. It's kind of a nerdier approach to the whole fashion thing.
The position occupied by fashion is also shifting, it's no longer considered as something frivolous compared to other design disciplines (or not as much as before), the last couple of years have seen a multiplication of museum exhibitions devoted to designers etc, which maybe kind of legitimizes fashion as something that might or might not be art but something worth being interested into. Several magazines have put digital archives websites in place in some form or another in the last couple of years so there's definitely an awareness there too.7

Will post short reviews of the Claude Montana and Woodman book, I think the rest have been covered.

Interested in the Montana.

 

[dieworkwear]

Don't know how I missed this thread, but I've been wanting something like this for a long time. Thanks for the OP for starting.

 

[Fuuma]



Ok, I thought they might be different editions so I was mostly wondering about the content, if it's the exact same book simply split up in several volumes it's all good.

Interested in the Montana.

There are abridged versions and some versions with the full work, this one is complete but seems to be OOP (it is the version I own):
http://www.amazon.com/August-Sander...&qid=1360253689&sr=8-4&keywords=august+sander

This one volume one is abridged:
http://www.amazon.com/August-Sander...ords=august+sander+people+of+the+20th+century

Montana: will make sure to post a few things.

 

[Ivwri]



Ok, I thought they might be different editions so I was mostly wondering about the content, if it's the exact same book simply split up in several volumes it's all good.
They probably don't see a market for it.

I think the demand for behind-the-scenes features and the interest for the creative process and all that kind of sutff makes more immediate sense in the case of other creative disciplines/arts like those you mentioned.
And I think this enthusiasm you speak of is a fairly recent phenomenon (all things relative) at least partially spurred by (broadband) internet which gave a venue to express this interest that no doubt existed before but not to such extent and without that kind of visibility. People gained access to visual content that was until then limited to books or magazines, they started to collect and share that stuff and that's when a desire to preserve or archive, organize, dig deeper appeared. It's kind of a nerdier approach to the whole fashion thing.
The position occupied by fashion is also shifting, it's no longer considered as something frivolous compared to other design disciplines (or not as much as before), the last couple of years have seen a multiplication of museum exhibitions devoted to designers etc, which maybe kind of legitimizes fashion as something that might or might not be art but something worth being interested into. Several magazines have put digital archives websites in place in some form or another in the last couple of years so there's definitely an awareness there too.7

Yeah this is definitely true from my own limited experience as well in Nigeria and generally. Pretty cool though as it makes it easier to get access to content for someone like me who is only out of the country like once or twice a year and not always to fashion-info friendly places.

There are abridged versions and some versions with the full work, this one is complete but seems to be OOP (it is the version I own):
http://www.amazon.com/August-Sander...&qid=1360253689&sr=8-4&keywords=august+sander

This one volume one is abridged:
http://www.amazon.com/August-Sander...ords=august+sander+people+of+the+20th+century

Montana: will make sure to post a few things.

Good to know. I definitely have the abridged version then. Still need to put up pics. I also received this in the mail today (Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers). Pretty nice book actually from a quick skim of the pages. I was sold on the book because of the Aitor Throup illustrations, but it has illustrations from all over the place. Some YSL, Walter van Beirendonck, Karl Lagerfeld and more. Will probably do some photos for this as well.

 

[Auburn]

This thread is really awesome. Just stocked up my reading list. I wish I had something to contribute....

 

[Parker]

amateur reviews of two introductory books written 20 years apart covering 20th Century men's fashion. Neither have cool bindings or much avant-garde material, sorry, but I think they are worthy introductions for the noob interested in how current fashion borrows from the past. I've included a lot of photos so I'll break this into two posts.


100 Years of Menswear
by Cally Blackman

Published 2009. A basic, but fairly thorough overview covering everything from The Duke of Windsor to the Thin White Duke. No real crticial analysis, more of an historical survey. Arranged chronologically by theme (The Suit, The Player, The Rebel, etc.), the book includes a lot of great vintage photos, many of which I'd never seen before either printed or in the net-o-sphere. Nice pithy introduction, dynamic layout, and short chapter texts and captions. The highlight for me was the Player section. Every sport seems to have had some specialized jacket or knit or headgear that would make some pretty cool streetwear today. The book has a strong start and covers a lot of the early subcultures from the 60s to the 90s, but then sort of trails off with a skimpy designer section starting with Ralph Lauren and ending with Thom Browne. Still a worthy addition to your general fashion library. Design is bold, clean and modern. Very 2000s. Cool shot of Bowie on the cover. I nominate it for one of LA Guy's contest door prizes.

An excerpt from the introduction:

"Men are also largely responsible for introducing subcultural modes of dress, that is clothes worn by a minority to oppose or to reject the societal and sartorial norms of a dominant culture. From the 1920s undergraduate wearing his Oxford bags to the New Romantic of the 1980s, via gangster, zoot suiters, Zazous, Teddy boys, hippies, mods and punks, male subcultural styles have had an all-pervading effect on fashion. In our now-fragmented society and kaleidoscopic culture of contemporary fashion, where anything goes, subversion or resistance through dress is no longer necessary or meaningful; the potency of this strategy has been dissipated. However, designers continue to reference historical subcultural styles in their search for inspiration."

The Suit -- Oxford bags, plus fours and hats. Proto-Pitti.



Worker & Soldier -- Heritage-y






Gustav Klimt in an indigo-dyed smock -- going commando. Freedom! Simplicity!


Misguided Futurists trying to abolish fashion by creating their own... fashion.






Original Gangster
























i-D and The Face mag editorials




Yohji-moto


Jil / Raf / Hedi

 

[Parker]

++

 

[Lionheart Biker]

Some pictures I scanned from the BBS book I received a few days ago. Still haven´t gone through it all. Actually, I´m still reading the introduction because I´m taking my damn sweet time with it and I´m also waiting for... something. After that I´ll feel "ready" to take in. I selected some of the pictures I think are incredibly descriptive of Boris and his work and a a couple of quotes as well.

 

[__CB__]

It's over 10 years old now (and could desperately use an update), but Techno Fashion by Bradley Quinn is worth a look for those into techwear. My favorite chapter was the one on transformables - talked about CP Company Urban Protection line, Final Home etc.

Found a link where you can read it here -

http://www.questia.com/library/102163793/techno-fashion

 

[sipang]

Talk to me

 

[g transistor]

Anyone have good recommendations for a cool typography book?

 

[sipang]

I can get like 10 books for the price of a shirt. This fills me with great joy.

 

[jwjp]

Picked up a copy of this on Yahoo Auctions. Hopefully it's in decent condition and I can give a little review when it arrives.
Also bought a copy of Raf Simons Redux for cheap(ish)... I can take some pictures if anyone is interested but most of the best pictures are floating around online already. Some of the text was interesting but nothing particularly scintillating; nonetheless enjoyable and informative for a fan of Raf's early stuff.