Fashion design Books

New Zealanders choose to represent ourselves to the world wearing black - and not just the All Blacks, Tall Blacks and Silver Ferns. Many of our fashion designers choose black as the cornerstone of their collections, and a great deal of our cultural icons (think Fred Dagg) are also characterised by ...

Contrary to popular opinion, New Zealand Fashion didn't begin in the late 1990s when four designers were sent to the London catwalks and created a stir with their stylish dark garments. Its history is in fact a long and rich one, and no one tells it better than the team of Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Cla...

New Zealand Fashion Design celebrates New Zealand's top contemporary fashion designers, showcasing their work and encapsulating the developments in this fast-moving creative field over the past thirty years. New Zealand's designers are as diverse as their creations, and together they have brought...

WHICH BODY SHAPE ARE YOU? Skittle, Goblet, Hourglass, Cornet, Cello, Apple, Column, Bell, Vase, Brick, Lollipop or Pear ...Forget your size. Discover your shape. Transform yourself. The key to looking fabulous lies in your shape, not your size. Join style gurus Trinny & Susannah as they reveal t...

This season's fashions are good enough to eat; in fact they are entirely edible. In A Matter of Taste Fulvio Bonavia fuses haute couture with cuisine with results that are guaranteed to tantalize fashionistas and foodies alike. Step out in style in a pair of corn espadrilles. A tagliatelle belt ...

Accompanying an exhibition at Te Papa, The Wedding Dress: 300 Years of Bridal Fashions draws on the Victoria and Albert Museum's superb collection of fashionable wedding dresses, as well as photographs, letters, memoirs, newspaper accounts and genealogical research to explore the history of the wedd...

Whitney Port shares personal stories, beauty and fitness secrets, and tried-and-true advice on everything girls need to know to start their lives out with style Fashion trendsetter, MTV reality star, and clothing designer Whitney Port learned to navigate her new independent life in New York with ...

Packed with breathtaking photographs, this tribute to Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) celebrates the incredible creations of an iconic, imaginative, and inspirational fashion designer whose work turned heads and hearts all over the world. He was a major fashion figure, famous throughout the world, esp...

SEX AND THE CITY 2: THE OFFICIAL COMPANION BOOK is the ultimate keepsake for fans of the fabulous four. Packed with juicy behind-the-scenes details as well as interviews with the stars, producers, cast and crew members, and celebrity cameos such as Miley Cyrus, Liza Minelli and Penelope Cruz. S...

Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen share the various people in the worlds of fashion, art, and design who matter to them and have influenced them up to this point in their lives. They interview 20 people, including Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenburg, Lauren Hutton, John Galliano, Christian Louboutin...

The most comprehensive and detailed history available of women's fashion in the modern era. From the styles of the early 1900s to those of the twenty-first century, John Peacock charts the development of women's fashion in all its aspects: couture wear, leisure wear, day wear, evening wear, bridal w...

Even the most savvy fashionistas have a lot to learn from the "world's most stylish bunny" (Elle). Indeed, Fifi Lapin--a spoiled rotten illustrated rabbit and in-demand fashion blogger--knows her couture from her carrots. Her blog of whimsical outfit choices and fashion musings has made her an icon ...

When ′Big Fat Gypsy Weddings′ hit our screens a secret and surprising Britain began to emerge: a world where six-year-old girls have spray tans, 12-year-olds are forced to leave school to do the cleaning, and young teenagers marry with spectacular ceremonies. From 200 ft trains to 20 stone skirts, h...

By the end of the First World War, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel had revolutionised women's dress. But dress was the most visible aspect of more profound changes she helped to bring about. During the course of her extraordinary and unconventional journey - from abject poverty to a new kind of glamour - "C...

This mini edition of "Pattern" by Orla Kiely provides her many devoted followers around the world with an insight into her creative process. The world of Orla Kiely is one where pattern reigns. Immediately recognisable, her unique design language and sure sense of graphic control has seen her label ...

"Pattern Magic" is the cult pattern-cutting book from Japan. Taking inspiration from nature, from geometric shapes and from the street, this book harnesses the sheer joy of making and sculpting clothes. The book takes a creative approach to pattern cutting, with step-by-step projects for fashion des...

In a contemporary, cross-generational twist on one of our favourite childhood stories, Camilla Morton - fashion journalist, international bestselling author of "How to Walk in High Heels", and John Galliano's "Girl Friday" - invites a legend from the fashion world to tell his lif...

This book features Pucci, the pioneering Italian fashion brand. It features Emilio Pucci, the prince of prints, his heritage and legacy. Emilio Pucci (1914-1992) had an amazing passion for women, a visionary sense of style, and an aesthete's eye for color and design. These talents led him to create ...

This title presents the overwhelming power of the classic undershirt. With the addition of just a few letters or an image the simple T-shirt can become a personal billboard. Ironically, though it started life as the standard issue undershirt of the U.S. military, by the mid-70s this humble garment h...

Clothes maketh the man. For millions of men across the world the common denominator that identifies them is the suit. Just three and half metres of fabric, some internal shaping elements, some lining, buttons and several metres of thread are all it takes to produce the jacket-and-trouser combination...

Justine Picardie has spent the last decade puzzling over the truth about Coco Chanel, attempting to peel away the accretions of romance and lies. In this full-scale biography we finally discover the history of the incredible woman who created the way we look now. Coco Chanel was an extraordinary inv...

Metric Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear was first published in 1975 to provide a straightforward introductory book for students beginning courses in flat pattern cutting. The fifth edition continues to offer an introduction to the principles of pattern cutting, with a range of good basic blocks and...

With new and revised illustrations and instructions, this edition of "Fashion Sketchbook" is still providing students with a comprehensive course on sketching the fashion figure, fabric shapes, and garment details. Abling's directions are easy to follow and detailed, using minimum narrativ...

Trinny & Susannah have advised and dressed more than 3,000 women. They know instinctively the finer points and secrets of looking good. In WHAT YOU WEAR CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE they pass on all their experience and advice. They show how to choose the colours that suit you best, what underwear to bu...

Isabella Blow was the epitome of English eccentricity. A legendary figure in the fashion world, she nurtured and championed the talent of some of fashions' most recognisable and important figures, all the time hiding her own personal unhappiness and severe depression. The news of her tragic death in...

Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) was one of the most influential, imaginative and inspirational designers at the turn of the millennium. His fashions both challenged and expanded the conventional parameters of clothing beyond utility to a compelling expression of culture, politics and identity. Focusin...

This is the definitive book on fashion in the 1940s, covering everything from French style under the Occupation and the make do and mend mentality, through issues of dress, patriotism and propaganda and the development of faux fabrics and rationing, to the rise of American fashion houses and the cre...

Everything around us is designed and the word 'design' has become part of our everyday experience. But how much do we know about it? "Fifty Dresses That Changed the World" imparts that knowledge listing the top 50 dresses that have made a substantial impact in the world of British design today. From...

Everything around us is designed and the word 'design' has become part of our everyday experience. But how much do we know about it? "Fifty Shoes That Changed the World" imparts that knowledge listing the top 50 shoe designs that have made a substantial impact in the world of design today. From the ...

Luxury and art have never been more closely linked than they are in these early years of the twenty-first century. Virtually all the world's major luxury houses have associated themselves with contemporary art through sponsorships, commissions, or foundations, and these points of exchange nourish th...

She revolutionized how women looked. She banned corsets, shortened skirts and scented the world with Chanel No.5. Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was an icon. But how closely did her carefully moulded image match the truth? Born illegitimate and raised in an orphanage - not by the two aunts that she invente...

An essential book for the fashion world: the techniques for creating outstanding fashion illustration with the most popular software, Adobe Photoshop. It is used by a range of professionals, from graphic designers and 3-D animators to video editors and product and fashion illustrators. The book show...

The landmark volume celebrating the life and work of Ralph Lauren, now available in a smaller, more portable edition. Unlike many designers, Ralph Lauren is not known for a single signature look, but rather for his sweeping dreams of American living. Over the course of his career, the images of luxu...

The latest book from the bestselling author Kim Thittichai focuses on the range of ideas and techniques for layering your textiles. These layers can produce simple to extreme surfaces for stitch. Layering is a major feature of today's textile art, whether to create relief, colour, texture or dim...

"Nostalgia in Vogue" celebrates the popular and poignant coming-of-age memoir columns that have been enchanting Vogue readers since 2000. This elegant volume collects a wonderful selection of Vogue's famous "Nostalgia" columns and the stunning photographs that accompanied them. Writers, designers, m...

A valuable book for costume designers, dressmakers and those involved in historical re-enactments, this book contains all you need to create authentic menswear from the Victorian period. Historically accurate patterns enable you to make a wide range of garments, including morning coats, waistcoats, ...

Albert Watson is one of the world's most successful fashion and commercial photographers. His striking images have appeared on more than 250 Vogue covers around the world, and have been featured in countless other publications such as Time, Vibe and on over 40 covers of Rolling Stone magazine. Alber...

The Chronology of Fashion traces the history of fashion from the late 18th century up to the present. Following a strict chronology, it pinpoints the times when a distinctive style of suit or dress, hat or handbag, cut of hair or cloth, or indeed entire look came to pinpoint its moment in time ...

Glamour isn't just about having the right handbag--it's about having the right personality too and many of the world's most adorable women have been gorgeous inside as well as out. A glamorous woman has a magnetism few men can resist, yet all of us can attain it--even those without classically natur...

Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions. In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe-circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most. Blending adventu...