Have you noticed how many style stars favour a book stack on Instagram? A curated library of chic reads that instantly elevate your home are not only beautiful to look at, but they are filled with pages of industry knowledge you won’t get anywhere else.
Ready to start your collection? Here are some of the most stylish coffee table books to shop now.
Peter Lindbergh, A Different Vision on Fashion Photography
Known as the photographer who created supermodels, this stunning photographic collection includes more than 400 of Lindbergh’s pictures, many of which were previously unpublished and most of which showcase his seductive, cinematic aesthetics and the vision he brought to art and fashion. This is a man who made raw images his signature. The images are accompanied by personal tributes from Jean Paul Gaultier, Cindy Crawford, Anna Wintour and other front-row royalty. Also included are off-camera moments, cinematic influences and even the handwritten prep notes behind the iconic portraits. A real gem to display with pride.
Chic Stays: Condé Nast Traveller
The first book by Assouline boasts rich images of beautiful hotels and cool hangouts – from Sofia Coppola’s luxurious family retreat in beautiful Bemalda, Italy, to the beaches of Kate Winslet’s Scottish hideaway of Eilean Shona, to Kate Moss’s dream beach in the Maldives and many more – for the travel junkie in you, this is a must. There are 36 personal anecdotes from the likes of Cara Delevigne, Sophie Dahl and Paul Smith. After flipping through just some of the images of the crystal-clear waters, lush hillsides, charming country hotels and white sandy beaches – your wanderlust will feel at least a little salved. It’s the perfect addition to your coffee table until you can travel again.
Stylists: New Fashion Visionaries
In the preface to this book ace photographer Nick Knight writes, “What is it that makes a great – the greatest – stylist? It is imagination, a love and an understanding of fashion and a desire to see things that are not there. Like an amazing film, a great stylist will open your eyes to a world you had not – or could not possibly have – imagined. In the business of image-making, there is nothing more exciting”. That says it all, really. Featuring stunning imagery and entertaining interviews with some of the biggest names in the field, including Lady Gaga’s stylist Nicola Formichetti, Marc Jacobs’ collaborator Katie Grand, Tabitha Simmons and Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, this gorgeous book is a must-have for any aspiring stylist or fashion student out there.
Hair
As the scissors behind the memorable looks and locks of some of the biggest icons – like Madonna’s cropped platinum curls on her Bedtime Stories album cover, and Princess Diana’s short, slicked–back style and Kate Moss’s famously tousled waves – McKnight is truly the epitome of a living hairstyling legend. Decade after decade he has worked with the biggest names in fashion, most notably Kate Moss, Patrick Demarchelier and Karl Lagerfeld. From ingenues to tomboys, from the girl next door to the Hollywood siren, his book is organised by themes, with rich illustrations and featuring photographs by leading fashion photographers and styles commissioned by Vivienne Westwood, Balmain, Chanel and many others. As Karl Lagerfeld writes in the introduction: “Nothing is ever ‘retro’ with him, he can reinvent hairstyles and periods with a fresh and always renewed eye.”
Tom Ford
Tom Ford has become one of the greatest icons in fashion – he’s a man for all seasons. Who can forget how he shaped Gucci into one of the slickest fashion brands in the world? Ford brought a hard-edged style and glamour to his clothes and fashionistas all over the world sat up and took note. His book is no different. Sleek and stylish, it is filled with over 200 great and fashionable photos by heavyweights such as Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Steven Miesel, Terry Richardson and numerous others. It chronicles not only Ford’s clothing and accessories design for both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, but also explores his grand vision for architecture, store design and advertising. This one chooses itself for every fashionista coffee table.
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Arguably the most influential, imaginative and provocative designer of his generation, Alexander McQueen both challenged and expanded the requisites of fashion. This stunning and delightful book provides an in-depth look at one of Britain’s most brilliant fashion designers. The cover showcases a holographic image of McQueen’s face that dissolves into a molten metal skull that lures you and never let’s go. There are in-depth studies of six collections that symbolise thematic chapters in his career, an interview by Tim Blanks with Sarah Burton, creative designer of the house of Alexander McQueen, the detail and visual splendour of Sølve Sundsbø’s photographs and illuminating quotes from the designer himself. What more could we artistically ask for?
Louis Vuitton The Birth of Modern Luxury
Love Louis Vuitton? Then this one is a must-have. The first in-depth portrait of one of the world’s best-known luxury brands, this elegant volume traces the remarkable history of the House of Vuitton, which has been making practical but stylish luggage, handbags and accessories for more than 150 years. It captures Louis Vuitton’s passion for fine design in a stunning array of archival art, historical images, product designs and sketches, and cutting-edge advertising. Examining the life and times of the company’s first three leaders – founder Louis, who invented the modern trunk, his son Georges, and his grandson Gaston – the text focuses on the firm’s development under their guidance. It also discusses Vuitton’s dramatic growth toward the end of the 20th century, including the 1987 merger with Moët-Hennessy that made it part of LVMH, and spurred the expansion of its boutiques to more than 300 locations in 50 countries around the world.
Poolside with Slim Aarons
Poolside with Slim Aarons offers images of jet-setters and the wealthy, of beautiful, glittering people living the glamorous life. However, the main character of the book is the pool and everything fun that goes with it. This is a more intimate peek into very private lives, to which Slim Aarons was given unprecedented access to in the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Browsing through the pages you are whisked away from the Caribbean to Italy and Mexico to Monaco, to exclusive clubs where taste, style, luxury and grandeur prevail. A visual delight.
Alaïa
This 20th anniversary edition is a celebration of Alaïa’s world. It offers a collection of images of his haute couture creations worn by his muses and photographed by masters of twentieth-century fashion. The likes of Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, Arthur Elgort, Ellen von Unwerth and Gilles Bensimon being amongst them. Also featured are archival photographs chronicling Alaïa’s early years in Tunisia; excerpts from literary texts and other sources of inspiration for the couturier; and contributions from his closest friends. This lavish and enrapturing book invites us to discover an intimate world where creation was allowed to flourish. The introduction by Carla Sozzani and Christoph von Weyhe puts it all into perspective: “Azzedine, you determined to make this ‘your’ book. All your friends – favorite artists, photographers, and models – joined with you until, page by page, the book was finally your book, ready to print. It now seems natural to reprint the book, your book, exactly the way we found it. Exactly as you had conceived it. A treasure.”
Grit & Glamour: The street style, high fashion, and legendary music of the 1970s
Can anyone forget the fashionable 70s? This book features an incredible range of dazzling photography by award-winning artist Allan Tannenbaum covering the styles and fashions of that exuberantly fashionable decade. With photographs of the Stones, John Lennon, Andy Warhol, celebrities and scene-makers that surrounded them, Tannenbaum’s iconic black-and-white and colour photographs provide an insider’s look at the wild fashions, flamboyant clothes and accessories of the 70s along with a perspective on how the fashion gurus and stylish personalities influenced dressing back then. Each section of the book focuses on a different aspect of the decade – from nightlife, fashion, and street scene to arts and entertainment and music, accompanied by insightful commentary and revealing anecdotes.
