Perpich News

Books About Fashion

September 14, 2021

Fashion Week MN is September 12-18; the library is celebrating with a display of fashion-filled books chosen by library TA Rosella Stewart. Listed below are just a few examples of what we have to offer. All items on this list are available at the Perpich library. Click on titles for more information.

Fashion Week Minnesota is a bi-annual event of runway shows, presentations, panels, and shopping events used to highlight the current collections of Minnesota-based designers, brands, and retailers. The event is organized by Fashion Week MN, a volunteer-run, community-oriented company that organizes two fashion weeks each year—a spring edition in April, and a fall edition in September. Annually, FWMN is attended by more than 2,500 attendees during more than 15 events in 7 days.

1. Ballerina: Fashion’s Modern Muse by Patricia Mears, Laura Jacobs, Jane Pritchard, Rosemary Harden, Joel Lobenthal
Written by fashion and ballet experts, the book is illustrated with archival photography, along with newly commissioned photography of contemporary ballerinas wearing ballet-influenced couture.

2. Clothing Art: The Visual Culture of Fashion, 1600-1914 by Aileen Ribeiro
There have always been important links between art and clothing. Artists have documented the ever-evolving trends in fashion, popularized certain styles of dress, and at times even designed fashions. This is the first book to explore in depth the fascinating points of contact between art and clothing, and in doing so it constructs a new and innovative history of dress in which the artist plays a central role.

3. Contemporary Muslim Fashions edited by Jill d’Allesandro and Reina Lewis [and nine others]
This dazzling exploration of contemporary Muslim modest dress, from historic styles to present-day examples, accompanies a major exhibition and reveals the enormous range of self-expression through fashion achieved by Muslim men and women. Filled with documentary and fashion photography as well as stills from runway shows and the media, this book explores the ways Muslim style cultures are shaped by global trends and religious beliefs.

4. Creating the Illusion: A Fashionable History of Hollywood Costume Designers by Jay Jorgensen and Donald L. Scoggins
Presents the history of fashion on film, showcasing not only classic moments from film favorites, but a host of untold stories about the creative talent working behind the scenes to dress the stars from the silent era to the present day. The designers’ stories are set against the backdrop of Hollywood: how they collaborated with great movie stars and filmmakers; how they maneuvered within the studio system; and how they came to design clothing that remains iconic decades after its first appearance.

5. 50 Fashion Designers You Should Know by Simone Werle
This accessible and beautifully illustrated book brings together the most important designers who have moved fashion forward over the past century. Fifty major fashion designers are profiled in this book in full color spreads that showcase their most memorable creations.

6. Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style DK Smithsonian
Tracing the evolution of fashion — from the early draped fabrics of ancient times to the catwalk couture of today — Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style is a stunningly illustrated guide to more than three thousand years of shifting trends and innovative developments in the world of clothing.

7. The Fashion Book Phaidon Press
The Fashion Book takes a fresh look at the fashion world and the people who created and inspired it. Spanning almost 200 years, the entire industry is represented; from clothing and footwear designers, to photographers, stylists, icons and retailers, including the new category of educational institutions that have been fundamental in the careers of many of the creative individuals.

8. Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa by Hans Silvester
Ethiopia’s Omo Valley is home to fascinating rites and traditions that have survived for thousands of years. The nomadic people who inhabit the valley share a gift for body painting and elaborate adornments borrowed from nature, and Hans Silvester has captured the results in a series of photographs made over the course of numerous trips.

9. Steampunk & Cosplay Fashion Design & Illustration by Samantha Crossland (1999 Perpich alum)
Whether your dream is to become a fashion designer, or you simply want to combine your artistic skills with a love for steampunk fashion and culture, the tips, tricks, tools, and step-by-step projects in this book provide you with everything you need to learn to design and draw an assortment of cosplay outfits.

10. Tokyo Fashion City: A Detailed Guide to Tokyo’s Trendiest Fashion Districts by Philomena Keet; photography by Yuri Manabe
Tokyo is considered one of the world’s style capitals for its vibrant youth fashion culture. Part guidebook, part fashion photography album, Tokyo Fashion City takes a stroll through eight Tokyo neighborhoods, each with its own unique fashion characteristics, to see what streetwise young Tokyoites are wearing, where they’re shopping, what they’re eating and drinking, and where they’re hanging out.

All items are available at the Perpich Library.