Be-spoke Style: new fashion titles

This month’s new fashion and beauty books bring a great selection of reads! Lee Alexander McQueen: mind, mythos, muse is a brand new title on the legendary genius of designer Alexander McQueen and Be-spoke pairs quotes, inspiring edicts, and philosophies from famous fashion designers with fun fashion illustrations. We also have new books on the history of fashion, Indian fashion and textiles, fashionable menswear and a diary from the 1800s, filled with fragments of cloth which become windows into Victorian life. Find your favourite new fashion read in the list below.

Lee Alexander McQueen : mind, mythos, muse / Esguerra, Clarissa M.
“British designer Lee Alexander McQueen’s collections synthesized his training in Savile Row tailoring, theatrical design, and haute couture with references spanning time, geography, mediums, and technology. Taking a look at McQueen’s design process, this book documents the designer’s diverse sources of inspiration by displaying McQueen’s fashions alongside related artworks. McQueen’s encyclopedic references range from ancient Greece and Rome to Tibetan silk brocade patterns, 17th-century Dutch painting, the prints of Goya, and the films of Stanley Kubrick. In each of these cases and beyond, examples of McQueen’s work are displayed alongside artworks from LACMA’s permanent collection.” (Catalogue)

Be-spoke : revelations from the world’s most important fashion designers / Luther, Marylou
“A collection of witty and sometimes wry quotes, inspiring edicts, and philosophies about fashion and style by celebrated fashion designers. Featuring Karl Lagerfeld, Virgil Abloh, Marc Jacobs, Azzedine Alaïa, Rei Kawakubo, Miuccia Prada, Thom Browne, and more, the book celebrates the designers with drawings by fashion’s favorite illustrator, Ruben Toledo. His charming and vibrant renderings of these creative individuals, combined with inspiring and humorous text, makes this captivating book a must-have for fashion lovers everywhere.” (Adapted from catalogue)

India in fashion : the impact of Indian dress and textiles on the fashionable imagination / Bowles, Hamish
“India in Fashion’ explores the beautiful and sophisticated history and aesthetics of traditional Indian fashion, dress, and textiles and their profound impact on European and American fashion from the eighteenth century to today.00This intoxicating and visually rich volume, with texts by experts from India, Europe, and North America, is published to accompany a major exhibition that celebrates the long historical contributions that Indian dress, textiles, and embroidery have had on Western fashion.  (Adapted from catalogue)

The men’s fashion book
“The Men’s Fashion Book’ is an unparalleled A-Z deep-dive into the designers, photographers, icons, and other creatives who have produced and inspired the most memorable looks in menswear – and are advancing today’s renaissance in men’s clothing and style. Created in collaboration with Jacob Gallagher, men’s fashion editor at Off Duty for the Wall Street Journal, this stunning book documents more than two centuries of men’s fashion, bringing its history to life through iconic, inspirational images, from traditional suits to streetwear, and beyond.” (Adapted from catalogue)

Worn : a people’s history of clothing / Thanhauser, Sofi
“In this ambitious, panoramic social history, Sofi Thanhauser brilliantly tells five stories–Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool–about the clothes we wear and where they come from, illuminating our world in unexpected ways. Thanhauser makes clear how the clothing industry has become one of the planet’s worst polluters, relying on chronically underpaid and exploited laborers. But she also shows us how micro-communities and companies of textile and clothing makers in every corner of the world are rediscovering ancestral and ethical methods for making what we wear. Worn reveals to us that our clothing comes not just from the countries listed on the tags or ready-made from our factories–it comes, as well, from deep in our histories.” (Adapted from catalogue)

The dress diary of Mrs Anne Sykes / Strasdin, Kate
“In 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments she carefully annotated each one, creating a unique record of her life and times. Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Piece by piece, she charts Anne’s journey from the mills of Lancashire to the port of Singapore before tracing her return to England in later years. Fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life. Through the evidence of waistcoats, ball gowns and mourning outfits, Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear.” (Adapted from catalogue)

It’s time to rethink your fashion : creating a better future / Lowe, Lalita
“The fashion industry is one of the most resource-intensive industries in the world. Over the years considerable damage has been done, but with increasing knowledge and the power of choice consumers are now influencing change. The key to success is for the fashion industry, consumers, political powers and other industries to join forces for a better and brighter future. To rethink our fashion is to understand and examine our personal and social values. It also means we need to understand the real impact our clothes have on the environment and the people in the supply chain, so we can make better buying decisions.” (Catalogue)

Dress code : unlocking fashion from the new look to millennial pink / Hyland, Véronique
“What does “dressing for yourself” really mean for a woman? Will gender-differentiated fashion go forever out of style? How has social media affected and warped our sense of self-presentation, and how are we styling ourselves expressly for it? Not everyone participates in painting, literature, or film. But there is no “opting out” of fashion. And yet, fashion is still seen as superficial and trivial, and only the finest of couture is considered as art. Hyland argues that fashion is a key that unlocks questions of power, sexuality, and class, taps into history, and sends signals to the world around us.” (Adapted from catalogue)