Books like Coco Chanel by Megan Hess

Offers a brief introduction to the life and career of fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, discussing how she changed the face of women's fashion.

His trademark is romance - the romance of unfettered fantasy, of quixotic garments spun out of fragments of the past. Galliano is immersed in the originality of English art, in the power of the Spanish visual tradition, and the eclecticism of French cultural history - his first show, inspired by the French Revolution, was called 'Les Incroyables'. Fairytales and fables provide a rich source, too - his first collection for Givenchy was an interpretation of 'The Princess and the Pea'. All this is grounded in realism, however, and he is celebrated as much for the sheer virtuosity of his technique, and for his knowledge of what can and cannot be achieved with fabric and line, as for his extravagant flair and imagination. This uniquely personal book not only showcases Galliano's designs for couture clothing, but reveals his inspirations and influences, his home, haunts, travels, and friends, and his own inimitable, often outrageous personal style. Over 250 illustrations - including previously unpublished sketches - show his trademark historic-romantic look.

Anna Sui is one of New York's most beloved and accomplished fashion designers, known for creating contemporary original clothing inspired by spectacular amounts of research into vintage styles and cultural arcana. She is especially famous for her textile prints. Sui joined New York's intensely creative cultural underground in the 1970s, forging important relationships in the worlds of fashion, photography, art, music, and design. "The World of Anna Sui" looks at Sui's eclectic career as a designer and artist, both through her clothing and studio. Through interviews with fashion journalist Tim Blanks, the book explores Sui's lifelong engagement with fashion archetypes, the rocker, the schoolgirl, the punk, the goth, the bohemian, and reveals their inspiration and influence. Complete with detailed photographs of garments, sketches, moodboards, runway shots, and cultural ephemera, "The World of Anna Sui" is an inside look at this iconic New York designer with a worldwide cult following.

"The controversial story of Chanel, the twentieth century's foremost fashion icon. Revolutionizing women's dress, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel was the twentieth century's most influential designer. Her extraordinary and unconventional journey-from abject poverty to a new kind of glamour- helped forge the idea of modern woman. Unearthing an astonishing life, this remarkable biography shows how, more than any previous designer, Chanel became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style. Her numerous liaisons, whose poignant and tragic details have eluded all previous biographers, were the very stuff of legend. Witty and mesmerizing, she became muse, patron, or mistress to the century's most celebrated artists, including Picasso, Dali, and Stravinsky. Drawing on newly discovered love letters and other records, Chaney's controversial book reveals the truth about Chanel's drug habit and lesbian affairs. And the question about Chanel's German lover during World War II (was he a spy for the Nazis?) is definitively answered. While uniquely highlighting the designer's far-reaching influence on the modern arts, Chaney's fascinating biography paints a deeper and darker picture of Coco Chanel than any so far. Movingly, it explores the origins, the creative power, and the secret suffering of this exceptional and often misread woman."--Publisher's website.

This beautifully illustrated biography follows Coco Chanel's exceptional life and work, and celebrates the fashion icon's immense legacy. Chanel lived a remarkable life, growing up as an orphan in a French convent, opening her own fashion house and embarking on several life-changing love affairs. This artist's take on her life continues the popular Life Portraits series, which celebrates the lives of iconic women.