Lifestyle

The 10 Best Fashion Coffee-Table Books

Searching for a fashion book to spice up your coffee-table and enhance your knowledge of the industry? Our selection is here to help.

By 

Meyme Nakash

 |  February 5, 2024

Coffee-table books are more than just beautiful décor. They’re also reflections of a person’s interests and aspirations. Whether you are interested in fashion history or simply appreciate beautiful clothing, fashion coffee-table books are a great way to learn more about a luxury house’s heritage or a photographer’s influences. Add substance and style to your living room with our selection of the best fashion coffee-table books.

The 10 Best Fashion Coffee-Table Books

Louis Vuitton, A Passion for Creation: New Art, Fashion and Architecture 

Louis Vuitton, A Passion for Creation: New Art, Fashion and Architecture (Rizzoli) is dedicated to Louis Vuitton’s patronage of the arts. The book has a playful and decorative cover. And the pages are filled with stunning images of the luxury house’s most recent collaborative work. Its chapters are written by four authors — each an expert in their creative field. This allows them to delve into the nuances of Louis Vuitton’s role at the intersection of fashion and art. Along with essays about Frank Gehry, Yayoi Kusama, Steven Meisel, and other collaborators it has worked with. If you’re looking for a fashion coffee-table book that is multifaceted and thoughtful, then this one is for you.

Tom Ford 002

Tom Ford left his mark on Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent with his sensual yet sophisticated designs. A capsule of his tenure at both houses, the book Tom Ford 002 (Rizzoli) celebrates his exceptional work with beautiful photographs by Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, and other renowned photographers. Anna Wintour authored the foreword, and fashion journalist Bridget Foley digs into Ford’s legacy in an interview. Much like Ford’s style, the book’s black-and-white cover is minimalist but impactful, making it versatile and chic for just about any space.

Dior in Bloom

Dior in Bloom (Rizzoli) is a sentimental portfolio of Christian Dior’s floral-inspired creations. It features dreamy rose portraits by Nick Knight, a nod to the lush gardens of southern France where Dior grew up. These gardens later inspired his first perfume, Miss Dior, and the house’s famous floral motifs. The book includes archives of fashion sketches, embroidery, and fabric — all of which are a testament to the symbiosis between fashion and flowers. It has a dramatic cover with light pink pastels, perfect for adding a subtle pop of color to your tabletop.

Chanel, The Impossible Collection

Described as “a literary museum exhibition,” Chanel, The Impossible Collection (Assouline) pays homage to Gabrielle Chanel’s legacy with 100 of the house’s most iconic looks. Fashion journalist Alexander Fury carefully selected these highlights. Starting with the Little Black Dress and making his way to Karl Lagerfeld-era styles. This oversized volume is a collector’s item and comes in a linen clamshell case. The fashion coffee-table book is part of Assouline’s Ultimate Collection series. It also comes with a pair of white gloves and a canvas tote bag.

The Impossible Collection of Fashion

In The Impossible Collection of Fashion (Assouline), historian and curator Valerie Steele presents the most iconic dresses of the 20th century. Each of the 100 dresses in her selection represents a different context that pointed fashion in a given direction. From Paul Poiret’s body-liberating gown in 1907 to Hussein Chalayan’s fiberglass Airplane dress in 2000, this book is a complete catalog of the most definitive moments in fashion history. Also a part of the Ultimate Collection, the shockingly pink book comes in a linen clamshell case.

Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Catwalk

Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Catwalk (Yale University Press) starts with a brief history of the house and biography of Yves Saint Laurent before diving into the maison’s captivating collections between 1962 and 2002. This book features a convenient reference section that’s perfect for fashion history buffs, allowing you to easily navigate the designer’s iconic pieces, details, set designs, and accessories. The cover is a vibrant pink canvas, great for brightening up your book collection.

Gucci: The Making of 

Gucci: The Making Of (Rizzoli) probes deep into questions about the house’s origins and identity over the years through a series of essays and commentaries, as well as previously unpublished photographs. The design house released this luxury edition in 2011, at the same time that its museum opened in Florence, inviting the public to pull back the layers of the house’s heritage. The book’s cover features the brand’s iconic GG pattern and Gucci stripe, representing the Italian flag and the house’s rich Made-in-Italy tradition.

Valentino Rosso

Before Valentino’s iconic Pink PP color, there was Valentino Rosso. The book Valentino Rosso (Assouline) uses the brand’s signature red hue as a springboard for Valentino’s most iconic dresses and accessories. Emphasizing the importance of color, it traces the house’s history with creations like the Rockstud slingbacks and V logo buckle belt, all the way to today’s Pierpaolo Piccioli-era Valentino. If you want to gift this fashion coffee-table book to a fellow Valentino lover, there’s an option to add limited-edition Valentino Rosso gift wrapping.

Peter Lindbergh. On Fashion Photography 

German photographer and film director Peter Lindbergh is a pioneer in the world of contemporary fashion photography. He is famous for producing images with a cinematic quality, often using black-and-white to capture the humanity in his subjects. Lindbergh also helped birth the concept of a supermodel, portraying Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford early in their careers. Peter Lindbergh. On Fashion Photography (Taschen) celebrates his legacy with some of the most visually arresting photographs from his career. It is large and comprehensive, great for adorning a table or keeping in your library for when you need some inspiration. 

Prada: The Complete Collections

Prada: The Complete Collections (Yale University Press) is all about the rise of Miuccia Prada and her subversive designs. It features runway photographs from her most groundbreaking collections, each accompanied by a description of its influences and impact on the industry. The encyclopedic book contains a great reference section, allowing you to easily locate any of the luxury house’s pivotal fashion moments. The cover is a light blue canvas, making for a more subtle fashion coffee-table book. 

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