V&A Fashion Perspectives Books

Fashion history is an ever-growing field, with more and more perspectives coming out. And fashion and textile museums and organisations across the globe are putting their collections online. (Some because of Covid-19, but many were doing it before!) And not that it has ever stopped me before, but the field is seen as more and more legitimate. Some of my favourite sources aren’t the garments themselves but the records of them. And there is nothing more invaluable to me than the words and memories of the artists who created these garments. I’m chatting about one of my favourite fashion history sources, the V&A Fashion Perspectives books! 

The Value of Fashion History Books

I know that books are considered by some to be passé and obvious as sources. (Especially in a field like fashion history, where you have a garment to study.) However, as someone trained in textual analysis, I still gravitate towards books. When I visited the Royal Women exhibition in Bath, I loved being able to see Queen Alexandra’s garments in person. It wasn’t until I read Kate Strasdin’s book on Alexandra and her wardrobe that I was able to have a stronger understanding and connect the dots. 

And quite frankly, as someone who is marooned in the middle of Canada, 19/20 times, I can’t actually get to all of these exhibitions. Books are accessible and don’t have any travel, admission, or research costs associated with them once you have purchased the book. So, when I started doing my research on my Style History series, I discovered that the V&A has a fantastic series of autobiographies from several designers. 

V&A Fashion Perspective Books-Physical Books 

There are two sets of books in this group, physical books and ebooks. Several of the books are available solely as ebooks, and I will be reading those after. I am starting with the six autobiographies that are available as physical books. (They are also available as ebooks, but I wanted to make sure that I could easily go back and find passages again.) They are fairly inexpensive, ranging for $18 CAD to $25 CAD new in paperback, and do seem fairly easy to source. So, what books are included in this series? 

King of Fashion, Paul Poiret 

A Shocking Life, Elsa Schiaparelli 

Silver and Gold, Norman Hartnell

Dior By Dior, Christian Dior 

Quant by Quant, Mary Quant

From A to Biba, Barbara Hulanicki

All written by the designers themselves, they give an incredible amount of insight into their lives, their inspirations, and their design processes. With some of these designers, like Hartnell and Dior, there is a fair amount of information readily available. However, it is valuable to have their thoughts in their own words. And for lesser personally-known designers, it gives a context and background that you would not otherwise have. 

V&A Fashion Perspectives- The Covers 

The one thing that jumps out about these books immediately is the covers- they are striking and gorgeous. And I’m not ashamed to admit, it is part of the reason I wanted to purchase the physical books! These illustrations were done by Beatriz Lostalé Seijo, who won the 2017 V&A Student Illustrator of the Year award. They are gorgeous, and are based on different iconic pieces/photographs from that particular designer. You can see a comparison between the cover and the Ecarlate dress below.

You can read more about the illustrations and the project here! From what the post says, we might be expecting more in the coming years, hopefully.

V&A Fashion Perspective Books- eBooks 

The V&A also has many more books in the series available in eBook format, for fairly reasonable prices. (These were all showing under $10 CAD when I checked). They might be put into print later, but once I finish the six physical books, I’m going to make my way through these. I enjoy that a lot of the ebooks branch out from solely designers, and they tackle the different aspects of the business of fashion. It is understandable why they may not be popular enough to do a physical run, but I’m grateful they’ve made them available here! (Note; Some are available through my library- it may be worth checking yours)

ABC of Men’s Fashion, Hardy Amies- A sartorial guide for men’s fashion by the infamous British designer 

Hints on Hats, Henry Melton- Originally published in 1865, Melton was milliner to the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII)

It Isn’t All Mink, Ginette Spanier- Spanier was a sales associate at Fortnum and Mason in the 1930s, and went on to be Directrice of the House of Balmain

Model Girl, Jean Dawnay- Dawnay, known as Caroline, was a Dior mdoel from 1949-50, one of the original supermodels

Heads and Tails, Aage Thaarup- Thaarup, a Danish designer, was a milliner to the Royal Family in the 1950s and 1960s

Janey, Janey Ironside – Ironside was a Professor of Fashion Design at the Royal College of Art from 1956 to 1968 and played a substantial role in the youth fashion movement of the 1960s
Modes and Mannequins, Max Boy- This is a fictional piece (rare in this series), that offers advice to women through the lens of a fashion show and the mannequins (models) walking

In My Fashion, Bettina Ballard- Ballard was Paris-based reporter who would go on to become Vogue’s fashion editor; a close friend of Chanel, Schiaparelli, and Balenciaga

Can I Help You, Madam? Ethyle Campbell- Campbell was a department store fashion buyer in the 1930s in London, and shares her fashion adventures

The Truth About Modelling, Jean Shrimpton- The 1960s model shares her experiences from in front of and behind the camera

Always in Vogue, Edna Woolman Chase- Looking at the career of one of Vogue’s earliest editors

The World of Carmel Snow, Carmel Snow- Looking at the career of Harper’s Bazaar editor Carmel Snow

V&A Fashion Perspective Reviews 

I’m going to be publishing reviews of the Fashion Perspective books I read, for Style File Friday, as I finish them! There are some really interesting things coming up as I’m reading that I never would have thought of, and I wanted to share that. (I will also link to the relevant Style History post for the designer, if I have one.) Hopefully, you can expect one review every 4-6 weeks, as I tackle the series. After reading two, I’m incredibly impressed with the series so far, and I am learning a lot. 

Do you have any of the V&A Fashion Perspectives books? 

Cheers,
The Historian
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