Spiked hair, torn fishnets, safety pins pushed through skin and clothing: punk has often announced itself through the body. It is a fitting point of departure for ‘Unruly – The Body in Punk’, now on view at ARoS in Aarhus, which reconsiders the movement not simply as a sound or a style, but as a physical language of protest, in which the body became a charged site of rebellion.

Bringing together more than 130 works – from photography and film to collage, installation and fashion ephemera – many of them shown in Scandinavia for the first time, the exhibition draws on curator Marie Arleth Skov’s three-year postdoctoral research project. Its focus is the emergence and evolution of punk across London, Berlin, Copenhagen and Aarhus in the 1970s and 1980s, tracing how dress, gesture and performance came to function as acts of refusal. ‘It can be difficult from today’s point of view to understand just how provocative, or even threatening, punks were perceived [to be],’ Skov says. ‘The reaction was one of absolute shock. That’s why I called the exhibition “Unruly”; there were many ways the punk revolt was incorporated, but they were all unruly.’

The exhibition opens with a quote from Vivienne Westwood printed on the wall – ‘If you want change, the best thing to do is attack sex’ (1976) – before moving to Sheila Rock’s photograph, Jordan in Doorway of SEX (1977). Jordan, the general manager of Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s King’s Road boutique at the time, leans against the doorway in a black leotard and sheer tights, her blonde beehive and heavy eyeliner turning her body into a statement in itself. As one of the defining faces of British punk, she sets the tone for a show in which appearance becomes both performance and provocation. ‘Her fierce attitude and the way she dressed say a lot about how punks incorporated revolt,’ Skov notes.

That same spirit shapes the exhibition’s thematic structure. Rather than unfolding as a strict chronology, ‘Unruly’ moves through a series of ideas: the DIY ethos of London punk, where second-hand clothing, homemade fashion and fanzines collapsed the hierarchy between performer and audience; the East German underground, where punk existed under Stasi surveillance and dress, dance and performance became forms of dissent; and the body as a site of gender play, fetish and self-invention. Fishnets, latex, PVC and bondage references recur throughout, as punk style challenged beauty ideals, sexual norms and the commodification of the body.

The curation, in turn, channels that same sensibility. Skov and her team wanted to avoid a ‘clichéd punk aesthetic’ and instead stay true to punk’s ethos through DIY and recycled display elements, reusing rubber curtains and mirrors from earlier exhibitions. Black walls, open metal racks and visible screws lend the show a stripped-back industrialism, sidestepping the polished neutrality that still dominates so much exhibition design.

Among the standout works is Linder’s Limiting Accessories Ltd. (1977), a mock magazine spread in which Buzzcocks frontman Howard Devoto wears a series of lingerie masks designed by the artist, pouting and gasping somewhere between desire and helplessness. The inversion is sharp: where women have so often been cast as the wearers of constraining accessories, Linder redirects that apparatus onto a male body, making masculinity itself appear staged, vulnerable and faintly absurd.

The exhibition concludes with Nina Sten-Knudsen’s film Panic Eye (1979), projected in extreme close-up, the restless eye darting back and forth across the wall. Surreal, fragmented and faintly unnerving, it is an apt final image. For Skov, punk’s relevance lies precisely in that unease. Today, she sees a renewed ‘no future’ mood shaped by climate crisis, economic rupture and war, alongside a return of conservative thinking around gender roles, precisely the kind of order the punk body was built to resist.

‘Unruly – The Body in Punk’ is on view at ARoS in Aarhus, Denmark until 13 December 2026

In a now-infamous segment of car-crash TV from 1988, Vivienne Westwood is interviewed (and largely ridiculed) by Sue Lawley on BBC talk show Wogan. The studio audience, encouraged by the presenter, laughs mockingly throughout the clip, as several models, including the choreographer Michael Clark and Westwood muse Sara Stockbridge, appear wearing looks from the designer’s A/W 1988 collection, Time Machine. Peter Smithson, who was ten years old at the time, was completely enthralled. ‘I didn't realise who Vivienne Westwood was but I distinctly remember seeing the models and thinking they were absolutely fantastic,’ he says today. ‘I wanted to experience the joy and confidence that they had on their faces.’

Standing in the main exhibition space at the Bowes Museum in County Durham, where ‘Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary’ has just opened (until 6 September 2026), the science teacher-cum-associate curator, and Westwood super collector of 30 years, is surrounded by mannequins dressed in pieces from his vast personal archive (Manchester Art Gallery, Fashion Museum Bath and a few other private collectors have also loaned items, but Smithson’s collection is by far the most prominent).

‘Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary’ at The Bowes Museum

Curated in collaboration with the museum’s Rachel Whitworth, the new retrospective features 40 full ensembles as well as framed individual garments, shoes, accessories, show invites and magazine covers, and spills into the museum’s Fashion and Textiles gallery where rolls of fabric, a sewing machine and calico toiles evoke a working atelier. In the main space, where Westwood designs from the mid-80s through to the 2000s are displayed chronologically, a series of paintings, sculptures, armour and other objects from the museum’s own mammoth collection are woven into the exhibition’s design, echoing the feel of a traditional salon.

‘The best bits from her seminal collections are where she's got that perfect blend of history, art and culture,’ continues Smithson, highlighting Westwood’s deep affection for the visual arts. ‘What she does is sew it together seamlessly with that golden thread of storytelling. And that's what I got interested in, unpicking that story.’ Indeed, the designer, who died aged 81 in 2022, was wildly passionate about 18th-century paintings in particular, championed the museum as a site of education, and famously described the Wallace Collection in London as ‘the greatest art school in the country’. Her own relationship with the Bowes Museum began in 2006, when she attended the opening of ‘Fine & Fashionable: Lace from the Blackbourne Collection’, having contributed three dresses to the show; the international touring exhibition, ‘Vivienne Westwood Shoes: An Exhibition 1973-2011’, followed in 2011.

While the new show is largely comprised of full looks, Smithson notes that each piece was sourced individually. His first formal purchase as a collector, after wearing the designer ‘to death’ in his early twenties, was a colourful crown with a faux ermine trim from the A/W 1987 collection, ‘Harris Tweed’ (Stockbridge wore a similar version on Wogan in 1988). ‘That is as Westwood as it comes,’ asserts Smithson. ‘With that collection, Westwood wanted to do sort of an affectionate parody of all things English and upper class; she produced it on two domestic sewing machines in a council flat. That one look contains five unmistakably iconic Westwood pieces: the crown, produced by Stephen Jones, the faux fur cape, her Stature of Liberty corset, a beehive crinoline. It's really significant.’

Elsewhere he points out a look from the ‘Portrait’ collection (A/W 1990), for which Westwood returned to the Wallace Collection. ‘Those pieces are absolutely timeless, but it's the level of thought that she puts into things. She wanted to represent every aspect of 18th-century painting, and so she introduced the large silk scarf, because when the models walked down the catwalk, the silk moved as if it was like the fluidity of paint,’ he says, reflecting on a ‘Shepherd’ print scarf featuring François Boucher’s Daphnis and Chloe (1743). Of a Boulle print moleskin dress, displayed with the scarf and three strings of pearls, he explains that ‘Westwood put the ink on the velvet dress thick and let it dry, so that when the velvet was stretched, the gold ink would crackle to represent the gilding on frames.

‘This is what became known in the very early 1990s as the principal boy look,’ Smithson continues, standing beside an outfit from ‘Voyage to Cythera’ (A/W 1989). The collection took its name from Jean-Antoine Watteau’s The Embarkation for Cythera, painted in 1717 and characterising the carefree new mood that arrived from the darkness of Louis XIV’s death in 1715; the look in question references the spirit of the scene, with the now iconic fig leaf tights, a ‘Princess’ faux leopard jacket and the ‘Principle Boy’ white shirt with framing detail. ‘It’s absolutely classic, a fun piece of Westwood design. I don't know if anybody else would think to get some flesh-coloured tights and put a mirrored Perspex fig leaf over it. But they're all pieces of art [the clothes in the show], and they’ve got stories to tell. I like to think they come alive at night and have a good party.’

Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary runs at The Bowes Museum, Durham until 6 September 2026.

2025 has been quite the year in fashion, with more creative director shifts and designer debuts than ever before. For S/S 2026, the most recent season of shows back in September, the world watched as 15 new visions were unveiled at major brands like Chanel, Loewe and Dior. Alongside the myriad new chapters beginning, a wave of extraordinary fashion exhibitions opened this year – marking what felt like a renaissance of the form, and spoiling fashion enthusiasts for choice. Just this summer, usually a quiet time of holidays and switching off, we noted 11 to choose from.

The exhibitions we saw in 2025 were tonics to what has at times felt like a turbulent year. The change seen across the fashion industry has indeed been exciting to witness, but brings with it a sneaking sense of uncertainty – like things could shift at a moment’s notice. To visit an exhibition, then, can be a welcome moment of pause – to take stock of the state of contemporary fashion, reflect on the work of those no longer with us, or simply get lost in history.

As we look to 2026, there is much of the same to look forward to. From celebrations of both historic couturiers and young image-makers, iconic decades and important anniversaries, there are a wealth of fashion exhibitions opening next year. Many examine the intersection between fashion and art, showcasing how the two inform and enrich each other. All of them are unmissable – below are ten of the best shows gracing various cities around the world in 2026.

Unmissable fashion exhibitions in 2026

‘The 90s’ at Tate Britain (pictured above)

Curated by former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, this Tate Britain exhibition will explore the 1990s as ‘a new dawn of optimism, freedom and rebellion’ and the abundance of creative talent that emerged during the decade. Via the fashion of designers including Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan and photography by the likes of Corinne Day and David Sims, the show will look at the forces that defined the time and shaped the culture.

1 October 2026 – 14 February 2027. tate.org.uk

‘The Antwerp Six’ at MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp

This exhibition made news when it was announced earlier this year, such is the anticipation for the first show dedicated to the group of iconoclastic Belgian designers known as ‘The Antwerp Six’: Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene and the late Marina Yee. 2026 marks 40 years since the six designers, all graduates of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, rented a van and took their collections to London’s British Designer Show. The trip was a bold and brilliant success, impressing buyers and critics and turning the industry’s attention towards a city not previously renowned for its fashion output.

28 March 2026 – 17 January 2027. momu.be

‘Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art’ at the V&A South Kensington

‘In difficult times fashion is always outrageous’ reads a quote from Elsa Schiaparelli accompanying the V&A’s forthcoming exhibition charting the history and present-day of her eponymous fashion house. From Schiaparelli’s beginnings as a surrealist and boundary-breaking couturier in the 1920s – including pieces from her collaborations with Salvador Dalí – to the present-day revival of the brand under the stewardship of Daniel Roseberry, the show will chart the house’s extraordinary history for the first time in the UK.

From 28 March 2026. vam.ac.uk

‘Nigo: From Japan with Love’ at the Design Museum, London

London’s Design Museum will host the first retrospective outside of Japan dedicated to the work of multi-hyphenate creative director Nigo. Founder of A Bathing Ape and current artistic director of Kenzo, Nigo’s influence on contemporary fashion and streetwear is vast – demonstrated by the breadth of this exhibition, which will also feature items from Nigo’s personal collection of ephemera and inspirations.

1 May – 4 October 2026. designmuseum.org

‘Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London

A rare opportunity to step inside the idiosyncratic world of Tim Walker arrives thanks to this autumn exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery. Known for his playful portraiture and whimsical fashion photography, Walker’s focus for this show is on trailblazers from the queer community in Britain, dozens of whom he has captured over the last five years in preparation.

8 October 2026 – 31 January 2027. npg.org.uk

‘Color Power. Rafael Pavarotti’ at Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris

It’s easy to forget that Rafael Pavarotti has been working for a relatively short time, such is the strength of his aesthetic. The Brazilian photographer – born in 1993 – draws in part on his upbringing in the Amazon rainforest to create his striking images, usually with recognisably rich hues. Pavarotti’s photography has graced the pages of fashion’s biggest magazines and formed campaigns for major houses, and this show brings together over 200 of his captivating prints.

23 September 2026 – 7 February 2027. madparis.fr

‘Costume Art’ at the Met Costume Institute, New York

The Costume Institute’s annual spring exhibition will be held for the first time in the Met’s vast new Galleries, a space of nearly 12,000 sq ft. 2026’s exhibition is titled ‘Costume Art’ and will explore the varied, intimate ways in which clothing affects the body and vice versa. By pairing objects and artworks from the Met’s wider collections with garments from the Costume Institute, the show will hone in on this intuitive symbiosis, organised into a series of ‘thematic body types’.

10 May 2026 – 10 January 2027. metmuseum.org

‘Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary’ at the Bowes Museum

Durham’s Bowes Museum has an impressive history of exhibitions dedicated to Vivienne Westwood, and in 2026 ‘Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary’ is set to be their most extensive. Featuring pieces from rarely exhibited private collections, alongside objects from the museum’s own archives, the show will hone in on a 20-year period from the 1980s to the 2000s, showcasing how the late designer established herself as one of Britain’s greatest creative forces.

28 March – 6 September 2026. thebowesmuseum.org.uk

‘Many Shades of Grès’ at the Museum of Decorative Arts Berlin

Storied couturier and costume designer Madame Grès will be the subject of a Berlin show, bringing her work to a German audience for the first time. With a particular focus on garments from the 1960s to the 1980s, the show is an opportunity to dive into a rarefied world, and see in person the expert draping, pleating and construction that made Madame Grès one of France’s most successful and influential designers.

5 May – 22 November 2026. smb.museum

‘Art X Fashion’ at the FIT Museum New York

This New York exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum will address a deceptively simple question: ‘Is fashion art?’ Via a wealth of both historical and contemporary designs, the show will hone in on the ways fashion has influenced art and vice versa, how both disciplines have the ability to both reflect and shape wider culture. With designs by the likes of Elsa Schiaparelli, Rei Kawakubo and Iris Van Herpen on display, the intricacy and craftsmanship on show is not to be missed.

18 February – 19 April 2026. fitnyc.edu

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne has a long history of putting two artists in conversation through the institution’s blockbuster exhibitions – the gallery is the most-visited in Australia – from Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei in 2015 to Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat in 2019. ‘The exciting thing with these projects is that they enable a rich and deep exploration of the work of each designer and then the additional exciting prospect of exploring the point of convergence – or indeed divergence – between the two,’ says Danielle Whitfield, one of the institution’s curators.

Whitfield’s latest project, alongside Katie Somerville – another curator in the NGV’s fashion and textiles department – brings this idea of ‘conversation’ to the world of style, imagining a dialogue between two of its most influential designers, Rei Kawakubo and Vivienne Westwood. Both towering figures of the avant-garde – and both proudly anti-establishment – Somerville says they were chosen for their ‘innovative and visionary’ approach and ‘shared spirit of rebellion’. Born a year apart, in Tokyo, Japan and Derbyshire, United Kingdom, respectively, their careers would run in parallel: in 1969, Kawakubo would found her label Comme des Garçons, while two years later in London, Westwood opened her first shop, ‘Let it Rock’ on the King’s Road with Malcolm McLaren.

Over the decades which followed, the two designers would challenge fashion’s status quo: for Westwood, first by defining the aesthetics of punk, and later by playfully riffing on historical attire, from corsets to crinoline – the sugary sensuality of François Boucher’s portraiture was a perennial reference – while for Kawakubo, rebellion largely came through form. This was memorably encapsulated in her S/S 1997 collection for Comme des Garçons, which has been affectionately titled ‘Lumps and Bumps’ for the way its garments feature protusions of padding to warp the shape of the body. ‘It is more important, I think, to translate thought into action rather than to worry about if one’s clothes are worn in the end,’ she said of the collection in 2005. ‘This is probably why the collection stimulated strong feelings in many people.’

While Kawakubo and Westwood did meet in 1974, when Kawakubo visited Westwood and McLaren’s SEX shop, and undertook a little-known collaboration in 2002, whereby archival Vivienne Westwood silhouettes were remade in Comme des Garçons fabrics, the pair largely circulated each other's work through mutual respect. Westwood would admire Kawakubo’s ‘punk spirit’, and both designers chose Paris to hold their runway shows, which remains the case for Comme des Garçons (Kawakubo hosts biannual mens and womenswear shows). After her death in December 2022, Westwood’s eponymous label continues under her husband Andreas Kronthaler, who also shows a collection twice-yearly in Paris.

‘The affinity between Westwood and Kawakubo lies in their desire to rewrite the ‘rules’ of dress,’ says Whitfield, who curated ‘Westwood Kawakubo’ alongside Somerville. ‘Generationally, they occupy the same slice of fashion history, working from the early 1970s onwards. I think what unites them, is that their work is about creative and social freedom; they have tackled similar themes in their work such as challenging conventions of beauty, taste and gender – and both, though self-taught, are deeply committed to the craft of making, consistently experimenting with cut and form.’

The impetus for the exhibition, which was opened with a starry gala co-chaired by musician Troye Sivan this past weekend, came largely from the NGV’s collection, which had already amassed a large collection of the two designers’ work (for Westwood, it currently holds 112 works; for Kawakubo, 308). Putting them together for the first time was a chance for a ‘compelling narrative’, says Somerville, which in the exhibition unfolds over five thematic sections (these sections are titled ‘Punk and Provocation’, ‘Rupture’, ‘Reinvention’, ‘The Body’ and ‘The Power of Cloth).

And, while there is a clear affinity between the designers, the curators say that their divergences prove just as intriguing. ‘There are great differences aesthetically in how they execute and express their vision,’ says Whitfield. ‘I would say Westwood makes use of parody and perversity, and her references are more literal, while Kawakubo's gaze is inward, and more conceptual and abstract.’

The scenography of the show straddles the ‘lush and immersive’ – like an illustrated simulacrum of an 18th-century salon or a room enveloped in red carpeting – and something more spare and industrial (brushed aluminium displays feature, while another room sees a series of screens running along raw concrete corridors). The Comme des Garçons mannequins were all dressed personally by the brand’s in-house team, who flew in from Japan for the occasion, while the Westwood garments are accompanied with shoes and headpieces, many of which were created by longtime collaborator, the British milliner Stephen Jones. Alongside, a series of ephemera – from magazines and mail-outs to archival film clips – provides a visual timeline of the two designers’ work.

‘There are so many ways that Westwood and Kawakubo have left an imprint on fashion today. I think the short answer is that they have both changed the way we see fashion and understand beauty,’ says Whitfield of their respective legacies. ‘They have shown us the power of fashion to protest orthodoxy and well as its capacity to liberate us from convention. I hope that visitors will come away inspired by their creativity, originality, bravery, and artistic vision.’

‘Westwood Kawakubo’ runs at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) until 9 April 2026.

Jewellery was never an afterthought for Vivienne Westwood, who began to create extraordinary pieces at the intersection of jewellery and fashion upon the opening of her King’s Road boutique in 1971. Then, chains hung from T-shirts dotted with studs, or emblazoned with statements - ‘Rock’, ‘Perv,’ ‘Fuck’ – spelt out in chicken bones.

It marked the beginning of a distinctive jewellery style which encompassed everything from punk to pastels. In Westwood’s hands, jewellery was daring, fun, fearless and feisty, becoming something entirely her own.

Westwood’s love of the medium is the subject of a new book, Vivienne Westwood & Jewellery, published by Thames & Hudson. 'Safety-pins piercing faces. Pearl chokers and droplet earrings borrowed from Elizabethan portraits. Bondage chains and sado-masochistic buckled cuffs and dog-collars. Crowns and medallions and bejewelled regal orbs. The jewellery vocabulary of Vivienne Westwood is as distinct and immediately recognisable as that of her clothing,’ says author, fashion critic Alexander Fury.

Ten chapters pay homage to the jewellery which defined Westwood’s style, from pearls to bows, a DIY philosophy to memento mori. Throughout, we notice omnipresent themes. Sex is a frequent reference, particularly when translated into the embellished cuffs and padlocks synonymous with BDSM. Activism, too, is key, with political slogans and recycled materials an enduring favourite for Westwood, while punk, safety pins and badges will always remain a hallmark of Westwood’s style.

‘Jewellery is powerful, and it can be loaded with meaning,’ adds Andreas Kronthaler, creative director, Vivienne Westwood. ‘It marks life, and it gives importance to it. The Orb logo itself is a jewel, symbolising the world with its past, its present and through adding the Saturn ring, its future. It’s very British and very Vivienne.’

'Vivienne Westwood & Jewellery' is published by Thames & Hudson

Flowers and fashion are entangled together in a new exhibition at Saatchi Gallery in London. ‘Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture’ explores how flora inspires creatives in various fields, and displays works by the likes of fashion house Vivienne Westwood and Finnish lifestyle design house Marimekko.

‘Flowers- Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture’

The exhibition, at the gallery's Kings Road, Chelsea base, seeks to reveal myriad ways that flowers are interpreted by artists within contemporary culture. It takes over two floors and nine gallery spaces, with large-scale installations, photography, archival objects, fashion, and graphic design.

Archival pieces vary from high-street to haute-couture designs. There's symbolism intricate texture, romanticism and natural beauty. British designer Vivienne Westwood shared her love for and knowledge of flowers in her designs. With her iconic punk aesthetic, floral prints were used to explore femininity and revelation throughout her collections, blending the avant-garde and delicacy.

Jewellery house Buccellati, which supports the exhibition, presents six hyperrealist floral brooches. These rare pieces include the 1929 Orchid and 1960s Daisy brooches, both crafted by founder Mario Buccellati, and Gianmaria Buccellati’s 1991 Begonia brooch with matching earrings. All are a tribute to the maison’s ‘stylistic identity’.

Schiaparelli, meanwhile, presents a 2024 haute couture wedding dress designed by Daniel Roseberry. The dress is garnished in three-dimensional hand-painted leather hydrangeas, parrot tulips, orchids and daisies, on a canvas of white silk taffeta.

Floral abstractions have been a Marimekko signature since textile designer Maija Isola’s prints from the 1960s, despite the brand’s founder Armi Ratia’s belief that ‘the beauty of flowers could not be captured in an artwork’. Now, Marimekko prints are an inspiration for a new generation of designers, including recent works by Helsinki-based graphic designer Antti Kekki, whose modern floral depictions ‘capture Marimekko's joyful and artistic essence through a fresh lens’.

The exhibition also features works by tattoo artist Daniel the Gardener, which are inspired by the relationship each client has with plants. The exhibition is a tribute to the beauty of flowers and how creatives bring them into everyday life.

‘Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture’ is on display at Saatchi Gallery until until 5 May 2025 saatchigallery.com

London-based streetwear label Palace is well-known for its thriving roster of collaborations, which tend to sway towards the unexpected and the offbeat (Crocs, Wedgwood and Harrods have all previously had the Palace treatment). Others, though, make perfect sense – like a just-revealed collaboration with Vivienne Westwood, which revels in the two brands’ shared spirit of independence and rebellion, rooted in their home city of London.

‘Palace is independent, Vivienne Westwood is independent, and we admire independence,’ says Lev Tanju, Palace’s co-founder, who worked with Vivienne Westwood creative director Andreas Kronthaler on the limited-edition collection. ‘Collaborating with Vivienne Westwood, it’s a massive thing for us: we love them, and we always have. To bring this collection to life was a dream come true and we wanted to shoot the collection in London, our shared home.’

First look: Palace Vivienne Westwood

‘From the first day I went to Palace years ago, I liked what they are doing,’ adds Kronthaler. ‘Their designs are made with quality, they are accessible and democratic. It felt natural for us to join forces, it was a very playful exercise, and it was a pleasure working with the team and making new friends.’

The collection, which is titled ‘Palace Vivienne Westwood’ spans clothing, accessories and skateboards, and sees references to some of the late Vivienne Westwood’s most memorable designs and motifs: a 1992 ‘Salon’ print is here reproduced on a Gore-Tex hooded jacket, while plays on Westwood tartan feature throughout. Other pieces bring Palace’s irreverent spirit into the Westwood world, like an image of Tanju’s dog Stuart imprinted onto a classic Vivienne Westwood corset.

‘This collection is a true reflection of our shared values and influences, bringing together two distinct perspectives united by a common ground of independent thought, all with a uniquely London twist,’ says Gareth Skewis, who co-founded Palace with Tanju. In this spirit, a new logo combines the signature Palace triangle with the Vivienne Westwood orb.

An accompanying series of images sees a further collaboration with Japanese street-style magazine FRUiTS and its founder Shoichi Aoki. In Aoki’s recognisable style – who grew to prominence documenting the subcultural style of Tokyo, particularly the Harajuku neighbourhood – the looks are shot on the streets of London on a typically eclectic cast. These include DJ Josh Café, model Issa Lish, activist Sibyl Buck and American musicians Semetary and Matt OX. The images will be published in a limited-edition zine distributed with each purchase.

Palace Vivienne Westwood will launch globally this Friday (6 September 2024), in Palace and Vivienne Westwood stores, as well as Dover Street Market’s London, LA and Tokyo outposts. We predict it won’t be around for long.

palaceskateboards.com
viviennewestwood.com

Unlike some designers, there was little separation between Vivienne Westwood’s runway collections and her personal wardrobe, which were both defined by an eclectic, anarchic spirit that drew inspiration from historical silhouettes – albeit in the designer’s distinct, subversive style. There were her pull-up stockings and towering heels, the twisted tartans and corseted taffeta gowns, and an array of provocative slogans adorning colourful T-shirts and knits, which championed the slew of political causes she ardently supported during her lifetime.

Announced this morning (22 April, 2024), British auction house Christie’s has announced a landmark sale of the designer’s personal wardrobe, which will take place across a live London auction on June 25, 2024 and an online auction which will run from 14 to 28 June, 2024. Avid Westwood fans and collectors will be treated to the opportunity to purchase clothing and accessories spanning over four decades (the first piece is from the designer’s A/W 1983/84 collection), which will also go on show in a free public exhibition at Christie’s headquarters on King Street, London from 14 to 24 June, 2024.

’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’ auction at Christie’s

Proceeds will go to The Vivienne Foundation (established by Westwood’s family to continue her legacy of activism), Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières, as well as ’The Big Picture: Vivienne’s Playing Cards’, a project by The Vivienne Foundation which supports Greenpeace. The sale includes rare pieces from Westwood’s seminal ’Dressed to Scale’ (A/W 1998/99) and ’Propaganda’ (A/W 2005/06) collections, and encapsulate Westwood’s wide-ranging fascinations – from messages of anarchism and protest to the blousy portraiture of 18th-century artists Boucher, Watteau and Fragonard.

’A genius born 1941 / Vivienne was a rebel / An outsider who had a calling / To be different / To explode the system / She was an original thinker / Vivienne was our heroine,’ said Andreas Kronthaler, Westwood’s husband who is now creative director of Vivienne Westwood, via a poem which accompanied the news.

’Vivienne Westwood’s sense of activism, art and style is embedded in each and every piece that she created,’ added Adrian Hume Sayer, director private and iconic collections, Christie’s. ’[These looks] mark significant moments not only in her career, but also in her personal life. This will be a unique opportunity for audiences to encounter both the public the private world of the great Dame Vivienne Westwood and to raise funds for the causes in which she so ardently believed.’

’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’ will run as a live auction on June 25, 2024, and an online auction which will run from 14 to 28 June, 2024. For more information visit Christie’s website.

A free public exhibition at Christie’s headquarters on King Street, London will also take place from 14 to 24 June, 2024.

viviennewestwood.com

Iconoclastic British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, who rose to prominence during the punk movement of the 1970s and has remained an anarchic presence in fashion since, has died aged 81. 

Announced yesterday evening (29 December 2022), Westwood died peacefully surrounded by friends and family in her home in Clapham, South London. Andreas Kronthaler, Westwood’s husband and creative partner, paid tribute: ‘I will continue with Vivienne in my heart. We have been working until the end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with. Thank you darling.’

Westwood continued to ‘do the things she loved up until the last moment, designing, working on her art, writing her book, and changing the world,’ the statement continued. It also noted that Westwood considered herself a Taoist, an ancient Chinese philosophy which encourages harmony with the universe. 

Dame Vivienne Westwood dies aged 81

‘There was never more need for the Tao than today,’ Westwood is quoted as previously saying. ’Tao gives you a feeling that you belong to the cosmos and gives purpose to your life; it gives you such a sense of identity and strength to know you’re living the life you can live and therefore ought to be living: make full use of your character and full use of your life on Earth.’

Westwood was born Vivienne Isabel Swire in 1941 in the small village of Tintwistle, Derbyshire, before moving to the north London suburb of Harrow with her family in 1957. She briefly attended Harrow Art School, dropping out after a term to attend secretarial college and later become a teacher. She married Derek Westwood in 1962 and gave birth to her first child Benjamin Westwood in 1963, though they split not long afterwards. 

It was while working as a primary school teacher that Westwood met then-art student Malcolm McLaren – a music impresario who went on to manage the Sex Pistols – in a relationship that would prove formative. Part of London’s burgeoning punk movement, they opened the boutique Let It Rock at 430 King’s Road in 1971, selling vintage memorabilia and clothing. It would undergo various iterations in the following years – Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, SEX, Seditionaries and finally Worlds End – incorporating Westwood and McLaren’s own designs, which often featured provocative slogans and DIY construction. Other pieces were inspired by fetish wear.  

In 1981, Westwood and McLaren staged their first runway show ‘Pirates’, which marked a shift from punk and ushered in the New Romantics era (Adam Ant had drafted McLaren for a rebrand not long earlier; several of the designs came from outfits created for the musician). Drawing inspiration from historical portraiture of the 17th and 18th centuries, romantic flourishes – bell sleeves, pirate hats, sashes and powdered wigs – met the anarchic spirit of their previous work with studded and tattered elements. 

Such a dichotomy continued to run through Westwood’s collections throughout her career (the partnership with McLaren was dissolved in the mid-1980s). In 1985, she introduced the ‘mini crini’ – a thigh-grazing riff on historical crinolines – and later reintroduced the corset, worn exposed, in 1987 (versions of the corset have appeared in Westwood collections ever since). Such inspirations were oftentimes drawn from a collection of artists she particularly admired –  Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and Thomas Gainsborough – noting her particular fondness for London’s The Wallace Collection gallery and its Rococo portraiture.

Tropes of traditional British dress would also be an inspiration point for the designer, most famously in her evocation of tartan. Presented in Paris, Westwood’s A/W 1993 collection was titled Anglomania and featured ‘MacAndreas’ tartan – named after husband Kronthaler – across a collection that the designer said was about English tailoring and ‘country charm’ through a French lens. 

‘On the English side we have tailoring and an easy charm, on the French side that solidity of design and proportion that comes from never being satisfied because something can always be done to make it better, more refined,’ she said. The show was also notable for one of Westwood’s most notable moments, Naomi Campbell’s catwalk tumble in a towering pair of ‘Elevated Ghillie’ heels. 

Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, Westwood would become one of British fashion’s most notable exports. In 1996, Vivienne Westwood MAN launched with a show in Milan; in 1998, Anglomania became its own diffusion line; while boutiques opened worldwide, from New York to Tokyo. In 2004, Westwood was celebrated with an exhibition at London’s V&A Museum titled ‘Vivienne Westwood: 34 Years in Fashion’, which was then the largest-ever exhibition dedicated to a British designer. Having been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992, she was late made a Dame in 2006. 

Westwood remained an avid activist throughout her life, pioneering ethical and sustainable production with her collections, and supporting numerous causes, NGOs and charities – from Greenpeace to the Humane Society International, which attempts to prevent sales of fur in the UK. In 2012 at the London Paralympics closing ceremony, she began Climate Revolution which aims to unite various organisations in the pursuit of preserving the planet for generations ahead. ‘I want you to help me save the world, I can’t do it on my own,’ she said. 

Later in life, she took an increasingly anti-establishment approach, denouncing over-consumption and capitalism – which she called ‘the root of war, climate change and corruption’ – and taking part in numerous protests. One particular cause was support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Dressing as a yellow ‘canary’ she stood in a cage outside the Old Bailey court in 2020, protesting against Assange’s extradition from Britain to the United States. 

These pursuits will continue with the advent of The Vivienne Foundation, announced yesterday, which will run under four pillars – climate change, stop war, defend human rights, and protest capitalism.

Kronthaler, who took over the Gold Label in 2016 – since renamed ‘Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood’ – will continue to show collections seasonally in Paris. ‘Vivienne still has the same bite and energy,’ he told The Guardian in 2021, ’although just a little slower. But I still rely on her totally: she’s the only person I trust to say when something is good, the only adviser and guide I can follow.

’She [articulates] ideas I’ve not even had yet. About fashion, yes, but more than that: a way to look at life.’

Join us as we take a flick through the fashion books currently taking pride of place on the Wallpaper* style desk – from visually enticing monographs and photographic tomes to limited-edition titles, they will act as elegant accompaniments to the coffee table or bookshelf of any style savant.

Here, selected by the Wallpaper* style team, a comprehensive guide to the best fashion books – including a lush new tome on the work of Irish designer Simone Rocha, an exploration of how directors dress from indie film producers A24 and a rare monograph from seminal designer Jil Sander.

The best fashion books for style savants

‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’ (Prestel, 2024)

Seminal German designer Jil Sander’s new monograph, ‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’, sees her consider an influential career with a kaleidoscopic visual journey through her collections. Hoping to evoke the energy of a runway show, the colourful images are curated alongside designer Irma Boom. ‘The mood of the book is true to the frenzy which overtook us every time we prepared a show,’ she told Wallpaper* in a rare conversation. ‘I knew that I didn’t want to achieve a classic coffee table book, so it was trial and error until we got there. The book packages all the shows into one.’ Read more.

‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’, published by Prestel, is available from waterstones.com and barnesandnoble.com.

‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’ (Assouline, 2024)

Celebrating 100 years in business, Loro Piana’s luxurious new tome, ‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’, is a ‘story of excellence, savoir-faire, and passion for the extraordinary, passed down for six generations,’ according to author Nick Foulkes. Recounting the history of the Italian house, which is best known for its work in the so-called ‘noble fibres’ of cashmere, alpaca and vicuña, it takes readers on a journey through the family’s early years as wool traders, all the way to its status as the luxury mega-brand it is today. Part of Assouline’s ‘ultimate’ collection, it is housed in a case covered in Loro Piana Tela Sergio fabric and is entirely hand-bound.

‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’, published by Prestel, is available from assouline.com.

‘Simone Rocha’ (Rizzoli, 2024)

A new Rizzoli-published book explores the work of Irish designer Simone Rocha, who since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2010 has become one of London fashion’s most celebrated designers for her romantic, folklore-infused collections which straddle the sweet and the subversive. The lush tome – which draws on Rocha’s publishing expertise, having released numerous zines over the last decade – features an expansive catalogue of imagery, alongside contributions from figures including artist Cindy Sherman, photographer Petra Collins and the critic Tim Blanks. It also pays ode to two eternal influences to Rocha: the artist Louise Bourgeois, and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo.

‘Simone Rocha’, published by Rizzoli, is available from waterstones.com and barnesandnoble.com.

‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ (Dover Street Market)

Róisín Pierce calls her art book ‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ a ‘love note to femininity, creativity, craft, and motherhood in its myriad forms’ – much like the Irish designer’s collections, which weave ancient Irish craft with a romantic vision of womanhood. Comprising a series of images photographed for the project by Jody Rogac of figures like Serena Motola, Frances von Hofmannsthal, Sinead O’Brien and the designer’s mother, Angie Pierce, the all-white ‘pocket book’ (‘a keepsake, a token’) also features interviews and poetry. ‘Imparting their wisdom throughout, their thoughts and views are allowed to flourish, unfiltered,’ says Pierce of the subjects. ‘Among the pages, they invoke the romantic nostalgia of the Gardenia, the sweetness of living in harmony with an uninvited mouse, the joy of being a voice in a choir, and the hope in resistance and revolt. There is no formula to femininity, and this book welcomes its abundance.’

‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ is available exclusively at Dover Street Market Paris (doverstreetmarketparis.com).

‘How Directors Dress’ (A24, 2024)

Indie film production agency A24 adds to its burgeoning imprint with ‘How Directors Dress’, an exploration of the working uniforms of film’s best-known auteurs, from Sofia Coppola to Spike Lee. Comprising a series of essays – contributors include Hagop Kourounian (aka @directorfits), Rachel Tashjian, Lynn Yaeger and more – alongside archival imagery, A24 promise to use clothing ‘to tell exciting new stories about directors, their lives, their movies, and the times in which they were made’. The 256-page book also features a foreword from director Joanna Hogg, and an afterword from legendary Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.

‘How Director’s Dress’, published by A24, is available from shop.a24films.com.

‘Norbert Schoerner Prada Archive: 1998-2002’ (IDEA Books, 2024)

A new book published by IDEA, ‘Prada Archive 1998-2002’, documents the campaigns photographed for the Italian fashion house by German image-maker Norbert Schoerner. ‘I hear all the time, from art director friends, that [these are] the campaigns they see most frequently on moodboards,’ Schoerner told Wallpaper*, speaking on the legacy of his work with Prada. ‘It's a great compliment, to have had that sort of impact on photography, but by no means could we have anticipated that 20 years later [the campaigns] would have such a ubiquitous presence in visual culture.’ Art directed by Jonny Lu, Schoerner’s clean, hyper-real imagery is collated in the book, featuring era-defining models Angela Lindvall, Freddy Drabble, Mateo Renoir and David Annand. Read more.

Norbert Schoerner: Prada 1998–2002’s first run of 750 copies have sold out, though the book will be distributed to global retailers in the coming weeks. You can sign up at the IDEA Books website to be notified when new copies are available.

ideanow.online

Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book (Rizzoli, 2024)

‘Born in Oasi Zegna’ celebrates the history of the Italian house, tracing its roots back to the Biella Alps in Piedmont, northern Italy where Ermenegildo Zegna opened his first wool mill in 1910. Now designated a natural territory, the locale marks not only the birthplace of Zegna, but also a symbol of its ongoing dedication to the natural world: since the mill’s opening, Ermenegildo would begin planting conifer trees to foster the area’s ecosystem, which now number over 500,000. Combining archival imagery and contemporary illustrations, the book combines dramatic images of the Oasi Zegna landscapes with archival imagery from the house, alongside illustrations by Paolo Bacilieri, Cecilia Carlstedt and Giuseppe Ragazzini. Accompanying texts, meanwhile, are contributed by Italian journalist Chidozie Obasi. Read more.

’Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book’, with texts by Chidozie Obasi, is available now from zegna.com.

Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories (Thames & Hudson, 2024)

’Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories’ grants a closer look at one of the French house’s defining accessories, the silk scarf. A fascination of Christian Dior which has been adopted by the various designers who have helmed the house in the decades since – most recently, current womenswear creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri – the Maria Luisa Frisa-edited tome provides an ’atlas’ of memorable Dior scarves, organised thematically. These include ‘Paris’, ’Optical Effects’ and ’Cosmogonies’, among others, with accompanying photographs by Brigitte Niedermair. The result, says Dior, is ’an enchanting portfolio... a pluralistic odyssey’.

’Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories’, edited by Maria Luisa Frisa, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Grace Wales Bonner: Dream in the Rhythm (MoMA, 2024)

Last November (2023), British fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner was the latest participant in MoMA’s ‘Artist’s Choice’ series, which drafts an eclectic raft of creatives to curate an exhibition of their choice at the New York museum. Wales Bonner’s was titled ’Spirit Movers’, and comprised works which centre on sound, movement, performance and style ’in the African diaspora and beyond’. An accompanying book, published by MoMA, is titled ’Dream in the Rhythm’ and is deemed by Wales Bonner ’an archive of soulful expression’.

‘In this exhibition, ”Spirit Movers”, I was thinking a lot about what becomes embedded into artworks and materials,’ Wales Bonner told Wallpaper* when the exhibition opened. ‘I was thinking a lot about materials that have some kind of past life or the passing of time being evident in artworks. One of the things that has always been fascinating to me is how sound can be captured through different forms.’

‘Grace Wales Bonner: Dream in the Rhythm’, published by MoMA, is available from Waterstones and MoMA Design Store.

Fila: Timelapse (Rizzoli, 2024)

Fila: Timelapse, published by Rizzoli, provides an unorthodox, genre- and era-traversing history of the Italian sportswear brand and its enduring influence. Dreamt up by Italian journalist and fashion critic Angelo Flaccavento, the aim of the intriguing tome is to ’tunnel both past and present into a single, forward-looking vision’ including archival imagery of figures like Björn Borg – the tennis player would put Fila on the map – alongside essays, fiction and poetry from contributors including Charlie Fox, Silvia Calderoni, Jeph Burton, Rahim Attarzadeh and artists Karl Holmqvist and HB Hoyo. A foreword, meanwhile, comes courtesy of Fendi menswear and accessories creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi. Read more.

’Fila: Timelapse’, conceived by Angelo Flaccavento, is available to pre-order from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble (out 30 April, 2024).

Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022 (Taschen, 2024)

Conceived by Midori Kitamura, one of Issey Miyake’s longtime associates, a new Taschen-published book provides a comprehensive guide to the Japanese designer’s innovative and imaginative collections. Visually rich, the book collates the most important moments from across the late designer’s expansive career. including the development of his signature polyester micro-pleats (which would later become Pleats Please Issey Miyake) alongside collaborations with photographers from Yuriko Takagi to Irving Penn. ‘Miyake liked to convey his ideas visually, so we used that framework as our starting point,’ Kitamura told Wallpaper*. ‘Miyake left us with a clear roadmap to follow, going forward. We have and will always carry this map in our pockets as we move forward, always carrying his dreams and his vision into the future.’ Read more.

‘Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’, initiated and conceived by Midori Kitamura, is available now Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses (Thames & Hudson, 2024)

A new book, Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses (Thames & Hudson), offers an unprecedented glimpse into the dramatic residences of the iconoclastic German fashion designer, best known for his tenures are Chloé, Fendi, and, of course, Chanel. The glossy coffee-table tome features a photographic portfolio of the various homes, from a gleaming Memphis-filled apartment in Monaco to 51 rue de l’Université in Paris, an opulent 18th-century hôtel particular he called home for several decades. Among it all, an extraordinary array of objets and art, a reflection of the eclectic inspirations behind his prolific career in fashion. Read more.

‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses’, with text by Patrick Mauriès and Marie Kalt, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Gabrielle Chanel (V&A Publishing, 2024)

Gabrielle ’Coco’ Chanel is the subject of an expansive new book published by the V&A to coincide with its blockbuster exhibition on the influential French couturier, Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto, which opened last September (until 26 February 2024). Titled, simply, ’Gabrielle Chanel’, the book spans her six-decade long career and pays particular focus to the garments themselves, which would mark a liberated new era for women’s fashion.

‘It’s about chic, simple clothing, looking at movement and the body,’ Oriole Cullen, who co-edited the book alongside curating the exhibition, told Wallpaper*. ’These elements she creates – the jersey, the little black dress, the suit – these are the things she comes back to time and again and refines them.’

‘Gabrielle Chanel’, edited by Oriole Cullen and Connie Karol Burks, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections (Thames & Hudson, 2023)

Thames & Hudson’s ‘Catwalk’ series was made for the style enthusiast: each edition turns its lens on a fashion house or designer and documents their entire runway oeuvre, from Prada to Versace. The latest addition is Givenchy, which explores not only house founder Hubert de Givenchy’s tenure – defined by a demure Parisian elegance encapsulated by his seminal gowns for Audrey Hepburn – but those who followed at the house, including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Riccardo Tisci and Clare Waight Keller, alongside Matthew M Williams, who exited Givenchy in 2023. ‘In all its purity, I think Hubert created one of the most complex legacies in fashion, because it reaches far beyond dressmaking,’ explained Anders Christian Madsen, who co-authored the book, to Wallpaper*. ‘It’s synonymous with sophistication and good taste, and those ideas are hard to mess with.’ Read more.

Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections, featuring texts by Alexandre Samson and Anders Christian Madsen, is available at Waterstonesand Barnes & Noble.

Yves Saint Laurent: Gold (Abrams, 2023)

The couturier Yves Saint Laurent was well-known for his bold, expressive use of colour, which included gold, a hue he called ’magical’. ’When reflecting a woman, it’s the colour of the sun,’ he once said. This magpie-like fascination is explored in Yves Saint Laurent: Gold, which provides the accompaniment to the exhibition ‘Gold, les ors d’Yves Saint Laurent’, which took place at Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris in late 2022. It holds up as a standalone book, though, featuring suitably glamourous imagery starring a phalanx of Saint Laurent muses, from Catherine Deneuve to Zizi Jeanmaire.

Yves Saint Laurent: Gold, featuring texts by Yvane Jacob and Elsa Janssen, is available at Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Shoes A-Z, the Manolo Blahnik Edition (Taschen, 2023)

Shoes A-Z, which explores the enormous archive of footwear at The Museum at FIT in New York City, has long been one of been of fashion’s most comprehensive tomes on the history of the accessory. A new edition of the landmark book – which features designs from Ferragamo, Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood and many more – comes complete with three prints by perhaps fashion’s best-known shoemaker, Manolo Blahnik. The limited-edition version – no doubt a collector’s item in the years to come – is completed with a ribbon-fastened portfolio to store the Fabriano prints, providing the perfect gift for any shoe aficionado.

Shoes A-Z. The Collection of The Museum at FIT. Manolo Blahník Edition, an edition of 1000, is available from Taschen.

Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy (Gallimard, 2023)

‘Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy,’ is a Gallimard-published book – created in association with Dior – which charts the couturier and painter’s lives in a unique joint biography. First meeting in the 1920s, the ‘designer of dreams’ Christian Dior and ‘painter of despair’ Christian Bérard became close friends and collaborators despite their contrasting personalities and approaches, with Bérard going on to decorate Dior’s first boutique, Colifichets, on Avenue Montaigne (the design included toile de Jouy motifs, now a house emblem). Alongside images by Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Lee Miller, and Irving Penn, as well as pictures of archival documents and objects, the book is a richly crafted narrative about the pair’s unique relationship. ‘All of Dior is in Bérard, all of Bérard is in Dior,’ says author Laurence Benaïm. ‘This book is not a two-headed biography – it is a meandering in the heart of a history haunted by dreams, affinities, and secrets sewn in the lining of vanishing time.’

Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy, by Laurence Bénaïm, is available now from Waterstone’sand Barnes and Noble.

Thom Browne (Phaidon, 2023)

Thom Browne’s first monograph is released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the American designer’s eponymous label, featuring both original imagery of archival looks as well as explorations of Browne’s theatrical runway shows. Photographer Johnny Dufort has collaborated on the project, while Andrew Bolton – head curator of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – curates the various looks and provides the book’s introduction. The book is a design object in itself: enclosed in a clamshell box, the Irma Boom-designed tome features Browne’s grosgrain striped ribbon as a bookmark. ‘This is a must-have for any Thom Browne fan,’ says Phaidon. Read more.

Thom Browne: The 20th Anniversary Book, by Andrew Bolton and Thom Browne, is available from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Chopova Lowena: Conversations with Angels (2023) 

Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena – the designers behind London-based fashion label Chopova Lowena – release their third book this July, titled ‘Conversations with Angels’ and starring actress Chloë Sevigny. In it, Sevigny stars as a version of the Snow Queen from the Danish fairytale (here reimagined by poet Precious Okoyomo), one of Lowena’s favourite stories as a child, while the pair’s A/W 2023 collection, inspired by 70s skiwear, appears throughout the Charlotte Wales-shot book. ‘We love creating books because it gives us a chance to completely express our vision in such a meaningful way,’ say Chopova and Lowena. ‘This one was such a special one, working with our long-time collaborator Charlotte Wales and the incredible Chloë Sevigny. It was so exciting to work with Chloë on Conversations with Angels, we are huge fans of her work and it was a dream to work with her.’

Limited edition.

Dior by Raf Simons (Assouline, 2023)

Published by Assouline, a new tome celebrates Raf Simons’ acclaimed tenure at Dior, where he was creative director from 2012 to 2015. Part of a six-part series exploring the Parisian house’s various artistic directors, the book documents Simons’ ‘infinitely contemporary purity’ which married the house’s heritage with a subversive modernity which has defined the Belgian designer’s work since the founding of his eponymous label in 1995. It also explores the passions that Simons shares with Christian Dior – architecture, art and gardens among them – and features ‘dress portraits’ by Laziz Hamani and texts from fashion journalist Tim Blanks.

Dior by Raf Simons, by Tim Blanks, is available from dior.com

Burberry (Assouline, 2023)

Burberry entered a new chapter last month when Yorkshire-born designer Daniel Lee began his tenure at the brand with a debut collection that drew inspiration from eclectic British dress codes (‘you walk down the street and you’re surrounded by people from so many walks of life, all living together,’ he said after the show at London Fashion Week). He also looked towards the British institution’s roots in functionality – Burberry was founded in 1856 to create clothing which would protect its wearer from the country’s unpredictable weather – a heritage which is celebrated with the publication of new book ‘Burberry’ (Assouline). Across five chapters, fashion critic Alexander Fury charts Burberry’s 165-year history for an exploration of ‘innovation, adventure and Britishness’ alongside 200 illustrations. Says Carly Eck, Burberry brand curator, archive: ‘This book, the only one to be endorsed by the brand in recent times, presents a panorama of the company’s extraordinary heritage, which deserves to be widely celebrated. It’s the stuff of legends.’

Burberry, by Alexander Fury, is available from burberry.com.

Macro (Jil Sander, 2023)

The latest in a series of books created by Lucie and Luke Meier in collaboration with international artists and photographers, ‘Macro’ sees the designers unite with Chris Rhodes who captures the brand’s A/W 2022 collection in a number of still-life images. A long-time collaborator, Rhodes reveals the unseen details of the Meiers’ collections – the aluminium heel of a black pump, lapis lazuli stones in a silver necklace, a heart-shaped ornament on a handbag – in the intimate images. ‘Macro is the testimony of a journey, of an idea that adds a different dimension to the purpose of Lucie and Luke Meier’s work,’ say the brand, ‘a suggestion on how design can be unconventionally perceived and displayed’.

Limited edition.

Chloé Catwalk (Thames and Hudson, 2022)

Coinciding with the house’s 70th anniversary, a new Thames & Hudson-published book provides a comprehensive history of Chloé and those who have shaped it – from founder Gaby Aghion to a young Karl Lagerfeld, and the slew of influential female designers who have helmed the house in the years since, among them Martine Sitbon, Phoebe Philo, Stella McCartney and current creative director Gabriela Hearst. Collating over 130 collections and 1,100 looks, ‘Chloé Catwalk’ provides a vivid portrait of the pioneering house that has sought ‘modernity, ease, vibrancy, optimism, freedom’ from its beginnings. ‘All I ever wanted was for Chloé to have a happy spirit and to make people happy,’ Aghion is quoted as saying in the book. It is the latest addition to Thames & Hudson‘s blockbuster ‘Catwalk’ series, this time authored by Lou Stoppard and featuring a preface by fashion critic Suzy Menkes.

Come Stai? (Bottega Veneta, 2022)

Earlier this year, Italian designer Gaetano Pesce created the set – including 400 entirely unique chairs – for Matthieu Blazy’s sophomore outing at Bottega Veneta. A new limited-edition book from the house, launched as part of Design Miami, documents the process. Alongside images of the set’s creation by Stephen Shore and Sander Muylaert, Hans Ulrich Obrist interviews Pesce about the project’s ‘ideation, approach and process’ as well as contributions from Blazy and Wallpaper* Milan editor Maria Cristina Didero. Like the chairs, each cover of the book is entirely one-of-a-kind.

Acne Paper Issue 17 (Acne Studios, 2022)

After a seven-year hiatus, Acne Paper – Stockholm-based fashion label Acne Studios’ cult print magazine – was relaunched last November as a ‘hybrid between a book and a magazine’ across 500 pages. This year, for its 17th issue, the brand says it is taking this idea of a hybrid ‘one step further’ – ‘[it is] part biography, part novel, part cultural art journal, part fashion magazine,’ describe the brand of the latest issue, which centres around a character named Atticus, ‘a fictional personality in the art world who [is celebrating] his 100-year birthday’. Across five chapters, his ‘memoir’ narrates a ‘cultured life’ which sees him journey from a dancer under choreographer Merce Cunningham to a luminary of the contemporary art scene. The biography also centres on Atticus’ relationship with partner Desmond, ‘[reminding] of a time when men who loved men, and women who loved women, were considered delinquents… [and recalling] the dramatic Aids epidemic and the many loved and talented people who perished with it.’ As such, a portfolio in the issue pays tribute to the work of real-life artists Darrel Ellis, Arch Connelly, Jimmy Wright, and Larry Stanton – the latter who will be celebrated in a special capsule collection by the brand – while contributions from contemporary photographers Luis Alberto Rodriguez, Paul Kooiker and an intimate self-portrait series by Ibrahim Kamara are intersected throughout.

Hand in Hand (Fendi, 2022)

Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Fendi Baguette, a new book from the Italian house sees the iconic handbag style reinterpreted by 30 artisans across Italy in a celebration of centuries-old craft – from brocade, embroidery and crochet to works in wood and marble. In the book – titled ‘Hand in Hand’ after the 2020 initiative of the same name which originally tasked the artisans with reinterpreting the accessory – these works are captured by Italian photographer Lorenzo Vitturi and accompanied by texts by art critic and curator Eugenio Viola, artist Aldo Bakker and ‘upcyclist’ Orsola de Castro. ‘It pleases me to work on certain techniques that, to me, seem unchanged – and then to observe how, when working by hand, an error can become a virtue. Indeed, an error can become the idea for innovation,’ says the bag’s original designer Silvia Venturini Fendi in an interview about the project in the book. ‘[It] is a couture initiative, because it presents Baguette bags that will not be replicated.’

Akris: A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich (Rizzoli, 2022)

To coincide with Akris’ 100th-anniversary celebrations – the house was founded a century ago in St Gallen, Switzerland – a new book, ‘A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich’, presents a history of the house through the lens of current creative director Albert Kriemler (grandson of Akris founder Alice Kriemler-Schoch). The large-format photobook features a portfolio of vintage Akris styles photographed by Iwan Baan at the 1960s brutalist extension of the university of St Gallen, alongside an essay by Swiss author Daniel Binswanger, comments by Kriemler himself, and archival imagery. ‘Selbstverständlich is the one single German expression [that] best encapsulates the Akris spirit for me,’ says Kriemler of the book’s title, which loosely translates to English as ‘natural’ or ‘self-evident’. ‘It perfectly conveys our aesthetic ideal of clothing, embodying an effortless modernity.’

Dior by Sarah Moon (Delpire & Co, 2022)

A new book from Dior celebrates the Parisian house’s relationship with French photographer Sarah Moon – ‘a delicate ode to multifaceted femininity, sublime in its complexity,’ as the accompanying blurb describes. Across three consecutive volumes, Moon captures pieces from the Dior archives – mostly at Fondation Le Corbusier or inside the archival spaces themselves – creating evocative images which ‘communicate the strength which emanates from the architectural silhouettes designed by Christian Dior and his successors’. Current creative director of the women’s collections Maria Grazia Chiuri, who has continually commissioned women artists during her tenure for collaborations or show-set design, is a particular focus of the tome, with a 38-image portfolio of Chiuri’s work making up the book’s final volume.

The Colors of Sies Marjan (Rizzoli, 2022)

‘The Colors of Sies Marjan’ explores the brief but colourful history of Sander Lak’s cult New York label Sies Marjan, which shuttered in June 2020 after four years in business. The ‘highly personal’ book, as Lak describes, features archival imagery of Sies Marjan with a particular focus placed on the designer’s vivid and unexpected use of colour which was the bedrock of his work (‘Cookie Monster blue’, ‘Baskin Robbins pink’, ‘Lakers purple’ and ‘Post-it yellow’ are all described in the book). ‘The intention of a lot of books about fashion houses is usually within a marketing or PR-filled context, like an anniversary or store opening, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but this was something very different,’ Lak says of the book, which features contributions from artist Elizabeth Peyton, author Donna Tartt, and architect Rem Koolhaas, among others. ‘It was a chance for myself to give this chapter some closure.’

Annie Leibovitz (Taschen, 2022)

Originally published as part of Taschen's Sumo series – in which seminal cultural figures, including Helmut Newton, David Hockney and the Rolling Stones, are celebrated with limited-edition supersized monographs – Annie Leibovitz is rereleased in a new unlimited version. The comprehensive tome draws on 40 years of the American photographer’s work, from photojournalism for publications like Rolling Stone to her best-known celebrity portraiture in Vanity Fair and Vogue, as well as a number of photographs never before seen. ‘This is not a retrospective. It is a kind of potpourri. A roller coaster,’ Leibovitz says. ‘As you go through it, you forget what you saw in the beginning. You’re in another place toward the end.’

The Fendi Set: From Bloomsbury to Borghese (Rizzoli, 2022)

British designer Kim Jones became head of Fendi couture and womenswear in September 2020; his first collection for the house, the following January, melded Fendi’s famed Italian craftsmanship with his own British roots, looking towards the Bloomsbury Set for inspiration (particularly – Virginia Woolf, and her novel Orlando). The link, he said, was the way they were drawn to Rome – to its ancient monuments and Renaissance treasures – a journey he explores in a new Rizzoli-published book The Fendi Set (first released in January in the UK, it will arrive in the US at the beginning of April). Exploring Jones’ relationship with the culture-shaping group of artists, intellectuals and writers, it sees collaborator Nikolai von Bismarck photograph their famed gathering spots – Charleston House, Knole House, and Sissinghurst Castle – before heading to the set of the haute couture show in Paris, and then to Rome’s Villa Medici and Villa Borghese, where the histories of Fendi and the Bloomsbury Set meet. The photographs capture Jones’ own contemporary ‘set’ – Christy Turlington, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell among them – alongside original letters, diary entries and excerpts from Bloomsbury members.

GANNI: Gimme More (Rizzoli, 2021)

Ganni girls embody a celebratory, spontaneous, community and eco-aware spirit – one that has been captured within the pages of the Copenhagen-based brand's debut monograph GANNI: Gimme More. The vivid volume, published by Rizzoli, dives into the world of the sustainability-focused, pattern- and print-celebrating label. Look out for a photo essay documenting Ganni's home city, shot by longtime collaborator Ana Kraš; an insightful conversation with the label's creative director Ditte Reffstrup and a vivid visual collage piecing together the brand's raising-the-roof house parties. Laura Hawkins

Versace Catwalk: The Complete Collections (2021)

In recent years, Versace catwalk shows have well and truly broken the internet. For the label’s Milan Fashion Week S/S 2022 offering in September, its campaign star Dua Lipa opened and closed a scintillating runway show, which featured a profusion of its signature motifs: tropical foulard silks, oodles of neon, safety-pin embellishments and a steamy hit of bare skin.

With the release of Versace Catwalk: The Complete Collections, fashion fans can ogle their favourite catwalk collections from the brand – be it the animal-print and power-shouldered silhouettes of the S/S 1983 offering, or the cyber glamour of the S/S 2012 couture show. The volume, authored by esteemed fashion critic Tim Blanks, is paged chronologically and brings together more than 40 years of fashion shows, kicking off with Gianni Versace’s 1978 debut, in a carefully curated edit of some 1,200 images. LH

OBJECT-FORM.FORM!, by Samuel Ross (2021)

Samuel Ross' interdisciplinary mindset – that sees him bridge not only his fashion label A-Cold-Wall* but also his art and design practice SR_A – culminates in Object – Form. Form!, Ross' first major book celebrating the range and extent of his projects and collaborators. Leaf through this visual history of Ross' projects to date, which also features a gallery of short texts by friends, mentors and peers, including Virgil Abloh, Takashi Murakami, Daniel Arsham, Hans Ulrich Obrist and David Adjaye. LH

Vivienne Westwood Catwalk (2021)

Vivienne Westwood vanguards, unite! A veritable treasure trove of images and inspiration, Thames & Hudson-published Vivienne Westwood Catwalk celebrates 40 years of the legendary British designer’s runway collections. Take a coveted seat at the catwalk of over 70 collections and delight in 1,300 looks, that celebrate the historicism-rooted, renegade, punk and environmentalist aesthetic of Westwood. The volume, released in celebration of Westwood's 80th birthday, features an introduction and collection texts by fashion critic Alexander Fury, with contributions by Westwood herself and her partner in life and work Andreas Kronthaler. The book is bound with the brand's iconic tartan, first produced in 1993 and officially recognised by the Scottish register of Tartans. LH

Familiarity (Jil Sander, 2021)

Creative director and husband-and wife-duo Lucie and Luke Meier have collaborated with a cohort of legendary image makers, teaming up with Joel Meyerowitz on Sander's recent A/W 2021 campaign. Now the label has released Familiarity, a limited photographic volume, which sees five image makers, Anders Edström, Olivier Kervern, Chris Rhodes, Lina Scheynius and Mario Sorrenti, personally interpret the the Meiers’ designs. These images offer five distinct visual takes on the Sander aesthetic, which are united by Sander's clothing. The images have been captured inside photographers’ homes and gardens, bringing a sense of intimacy to the photographic series, and a notion of familiarity to elevated fashion. LH

Peter Lindbergh. Azzedine Alaïa (Taschen, 2021)

‘We met in 1979, I believe. Ever since, Azzedine and I are hand in glove. I photographed his collections and I have countless portraits of him,' said renowned German photographer Peter Lindbergh of his longtime friendship with Azzedine Alaïa, before he passed away in 2019. Alaïa and Lindbergh were united on many creative passions: a love for black and the celebration of the female form.

Now, a grayscale Taschen volume – launched in conjunction with the exhibition Azzedine Alaïa, Peter Lindbergh at the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa in Paris – celebrates the creative output of the two artist's, spanning atmospheric settings including the lamp lit streets of Paris and the windswept beach of Le Touquet, and featuring models and musicians including Naomi Campbell, Kristen McMenamy, Madonna and Tina Turner. The book – a must for Alaïa or Lindbergh-obsessed bibliophiles, also features contributions from Fabrice Hergott, director of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la, photographer Paolo Roversi and Olivier Saillard, fashion historian and director of the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa. LH

Silicon Valley. No_Code_Life (Rizzoli, 2021)

When Italian label Tod's launched its No_Code trainer project – a line of silhouettes that adheres to technological and fabric innovation, and invites design visionaries to apply cutting-edge ideas to its designs – it demonstrated a synergy with the forward-thinking mindset of Silicon Valley, and its ascendancy of unicorn companies. Now, in celebration of the famed San Francisco location, and the site of spectacular start-ups, the label has launched a Rizzoli-published book which lenses Silicon Valley, in an alternative light, breaks through the venerated veneer of its streets.

For Silicon Valley. No_Code_Life, Tod's enlisted Iranian-American photographer Ramek Fazel to document the daily goings on in Silicon Valley. For 10 days he roamed its roads, armed with a Rolleiflex, shooting diverse portraits and panoramic views, from aerial shots of lengthy highways to employees armed with colourful Google-branded tote bags. The result is a colourful and multifarious presentation of Silicon Valley existence, rooted in reality, instead of millennial-infused myth. LH

Craig Green x Jack Davison (Limited edition at Dover Street Market, 2021)

In March 2021, London menswear designer Craig Green teamed up with photographer Jack Davison, on a poetic S/S 2021 visual set of images that captured Green’s sculptural, utilitarian and headpiece-accented designs. Now, in celebration of the project, Green and Davison have launched a print media extension of the collaboration, encompassed as a limited set of four riso-printed and saddle-stitched self-cover books, accompanied by Tyvek sheet posters, printed in a spectrum of colour variations. From midday tomorrow, 13 May 2021, a mere 30 sets of the books will be available, for free, for the public to collect from Craig Green’s space at Dover Street London. LH

Pucci (Taschen, 2021)

One designer who had the ability to imbue escapism into every garment was Emilio Pucci. The Italian designer was a doyen of dramatic, pattern-splashed clothing, which also had a boundary-pushing comfortable appeal, and was sported on the ski slopes and in the chicest summer resorts. Now, a Taschen released tome celebrates the history of the print-swathed Pucci dynasty, in a volume brimming with archival images, sketches and eye-catching ephemera. Pucci, features accompanying text by fashion critic Vanessa Friedman and is wrapped in a tactile fabric cover, with a selection of archive prints abounding in abstract swirls and tropical blooms. LH

Her Dior: Maria Grazia’s New Voice (Rizzoli, 2021)

During her creative tenure at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri has made feminism an integral part of her aesthetic expression, collaborating with revolutionary female artists including Judy Chicago and Tomasina Binga and creating silhouettes that explore the multi dimensional facets of womanhood. Now, a new publication by Rizzoli New York, brings together a host of female photographers, including Wallpaper* contributor Brigitte Niedermair, Nan Goldin, Sarah Moon and Laura Coulson, in a visual exchange exploring female identity.

‘Seeking a dialogue from the outset with these women artists, writers and activists, they themselves at times distant from me and from fashion, was party and parcel of my focus on the reasons and the situations that I believed we urgent, and that I wanted to put at the heart of my creative process,’ Chiuri explains in the volume’s Introduction. LH

Stazione Termini, Lookbook 2009-2021 (Drago, 2021)

Niccolò Berretta has been drawn to the anthropological bravura of August Sander and Diane Arbus since he first started taking pictures. ‘I see their work as a sort of catalogue of human beings yet with the search for the mysterious,’ he says. In 2009 he began taking photographs of some of the one hundred and fifty million passengers that pass each year through Rome’s Stazione Termini. Now 490 of them have been brought together in a chunky book published by Drago.

The first edition includes a glossy wraparound featuring models striding the streets of Esquilino in the 15th rione wearing REDValentino’s Spring/Summer 21 collection. Between the covers, we see couples dressed in matching shiny puffa jackets, a cigar smoking man in a finely tailored navy suit, stickered suitcases, knitted leg warmers, and sunglasses pushed up onto people’s heads. ‘I do not go beyond the mirror they see themselves in every day,’ Berretta says in the introduction. This is more than just a record of quotidian style, it is an archive of a city and its people in flux. ‘An integral part of this visual process is the environment: the advertisements, the construction sites, the cars, the street signs, the scenography that speak to their time. The subtitle Lookbook 2009-2021 is an ironic reference to the world of fashion in which everything is fleeting, fast and almost does not exist.’ Dal Chodha

MSGM 10! The (in)complete Brand Anthology (Rizzoli, 2020)

The vibrancy, pattern and eclectic flavour of Massimo Giorgetti’s MSGM is synonymous with modern Milanese design, and in celebration of the label’s tenth birthday, the brand has released a Rizzoli-published monogram, majestic in colour and warmth. The volume, which is visually inspired by a fanzine and was art directed by Giorgetti himself, features a mix of fashion-focused and personal memories, from his dogs Pane and Coda to effusive editorial images. With contributing texts from friends and collaborators including Maurizio Cattelan, super stylist Katie Grand and journalist Charlie Porter, this is a must read for any MSGM enthusiast. LH

Images (Jacquemus, 2020)

Simone Porte Jacquemus understands the transportive power of Instagram. The designer has long used the medium to convey the sun-drenched seduction his brand reflects, associated with the sand-lined shored of Southern France. During lockdown the designer even shot S/S 2020 digital campaign images with Bella Hadid, Barbie Ferreira and Steve Lacy, showcasing the uplifting results on the social media channel. Now, in his second publication to date, Jacquemus has released ‘Images’, a book of his favourite 321 Instagram images, edited down from the 85,041 pictures he has stored on his phone. The publication is a soothing snapshot of summer, boasting beachside shots, architectural and food close-ups and Jacquemus-clad portraits. They capture the energetic, warm and downtime-focused essence of the brand, whether you’re browsing the book from a sun bed in its founder’s beloved hometown Marseille, or city-bound on the sofa. LH

Sicily (Jil Sander, 2020)

We’re all in need of a touch of escapism right now, and lucky for us, Jil Sander’s Lucie and Luke Meier have just released a sun-kissed pictorial road trip around Sicily, lensed by photographer Olivier Kervern. The analogue amalgamation was first presented back in February at Milan Fashion Week at the brand’s Via Sant’Andrea exhibition space, and the sleek volume also serves up a series of portraits depicting the brand’s A/W 2020 offering. While road-tripping may feel out of reach, Sicily will feel out of the way enough when this book is held in the palm of your hands. LH

Sportmax (Assouline, 2020)

This Assouline-published volume by Luke Leitch and Olivier Saillard offers a pleasingly pictorial stroll through the five-decade history of the sports and casual wear-focused label Sportmax, founded in 1969 by Achille Maramotti. Sketches and advertising campaign images abound, highlighting the boldy saturated shades that define Sportmax’s aesthetic and capture the style signatures of the creatives who anonymously worked on the brand’s collections, including Nanni Strada, Jean- Charles de Castelbajac, Odile Lançon and Guy Paulin. LH

Prada Catwalk (Thames & Hudson, 2019)

When it comes to a Prada catwalk show, fans of the Milanese label delight in decoding the various archive Prada-isms which appear in each collection, be it S/S 1996’s icky ‘Formica’ prints, S/S 2000’s tessellated lipstick pattern, a heavy brown shoe or a pleated knee length skirt. Now, a new tome houses all of the brand’s catwalk collections in one place, from Miuccia Prada’s debut A/W 1988 runway offering, with its schoolgirl simplicity and utilitarian tailoring, to her S/S 2019 collection, boasting bourgeois takes on its signature nylon fabric, chubby Alice bands and swathes of grunge green satin. The Thames & Hudson published volume, written by fashion critic Susannah Frankel offers commentary on each collection featured, and boasts over 1,300 illustrations, making it the perfect printed tool for Prada fans everywhere, vying to decode the designer’s famed aesthetic, her obsessions and eccentricities and the brand’s boundary-breaking sensibility. LH

Chanel: The Impossible Collection (Assouline, 2019)

It’s fitting that this clamshell-cased tome, measuring nearly fifty centimetres in length, is purchased with a complimentary pair of white gloves. For ‘Chanel: The Impossible Collection' is a bookshelf treasure equal to the house’s signature bouclé tweed suit or its 2.55 handbag. This enormous edition is a tribute to the famed Parisian maison; its glossy pages are packed with fashion show shots, magazine editorials, newspaper cuttings, illustrations and portraits. As part of the volume, author and fashion critic Alexander Fury has also selected 100 iconic looks that represent the house, from the Little Black Dress to the day suit. ‘Let them copy, my ideas belong to everyone, I refuse no one,’ Gabrielle Chanel told The New York Times in January 1971. It’s hard to refuse this book too. LH

Fashion Central Saint Martins (Thames & Hudson, 2019)

Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo, Wallpaper* October issue guest editor Hussein Chalayan: some of the most lauded, experimental and innovative designers in the world began their fashion lives in the hallowed halls of Central Saint Martins in London. Fashion Central Saint Martins – published by Thames & Hudson and edited by the school’s programme director of fashion, Hywel Davies, and Cally Blackman, lecturer in fashion history and theory – takes a bold, collaged and archival amble through the art school’s fashion history, which began in 1938, when six years after its fashion school was founded by Muriel Pemberton, it began teaching fashion design and drawing.

Its colourful, cut-and-paste pages are divided into decades, allowing the reader to party alongside the school’s Blitz Kids Eighties alumni, like journalist Hamish Bowles and John Galliano before touring into the 2010s, the era of Craig Green, Charles Jeffrey and Molly Goddard. Expect pages packed with unseen student work, essays from guest writers including Sarah Mower and Judith Watt, and intimate insight into the student lives of some of fashion’s most important figures today. LH

Legaspi: Larry Legaspi, the 70s, and the Future of Fashion (Rizzoli, 2019)

‘It’s me fetishizing him through a fanboy filter’ says Rick Owens of the subject of his latest Rizzoli New York release, dedicated to the work and aesthetic of 70s unsung design hero Larry Legaspi, who created pioneering looks for musical behemoths including KISS, LaBelle and George Clinton. Owens’ men’s and women’s Glam Rock-ready A/W 2019 collection was also dedicated to the designer and featured sinched streamlined tailoring, platform boots and plenty of stage-ready make-up.

For the first ever book documenting LeGaspi’s work, Owens had unprecedented access to his partner’s archives – Legaspi died of Aids in 2001 – and the book is an amalgam of archive backstage imagery, tour posters and sketches, interspersed with newly Owens-lensed images of LeGaspi’s designs, alongside commentary from Patti LaBelle, André Leon Talley and Pat Cleveland. ‘Larry introduced a camp ferocity to the mainstream and helped set a lot of kids like me free,’ Owens adds. We urge you to get introduced too. LH

It makes sense that ‘SHOW OFF: Austrian Fashion Design’ is huge in scale. It is, after all, the first ever major exhibition of Austrian fashion. Hence, enormous, visually ambitious, displays show the work of 66 designers, 34 photographers, and 250 fashion objects. It’s not just a numbers game, though. Curators Ulrike Tschabitzer-Handler and Andreas Bergbaur balance size and audio and visual spectacle with historical sensitivity as they carefully guide the viewer through five themed spaces about the social and cultural factors shaping Austrian fashion since the 1970s, from fashion education, distribution, and publications to the garments themselves.

Upon entering, the viewer is confronted by talking heads, a video installation showing projections of interviews with agents, stylists, journalists, and managers about Vienna’s fashion scene. This, logically, leads to a look at the fashion department at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (‘die Angewandte’). Since the 1980s, guest professors like Karl Lagerfeld, Jil Sander, Raf Simon, and Vivien Westwood have informed the work of young Austrian designers. This information is blasted at you from either side as you walk a runway framed by two huge LCD screens by projection artists Lumine showing output from the school over the years.

SHOW OFF’s centrepiece is a huge scaffolding-like sculpture designed by architect Gregor Eichinger containing 40 years of clothing, shoes, bags, and jewellery from designers including Helmut Lang, Rudi Gernreich, Andreas Kronthaler, and newcomers like Kenneth Ize. It allows a 360-degree-view, accessible by stairs from several levels. Most importantly, since the Austrian state does not have a permanent fashion collection, the viewer has the unique chance to get close to garments without them being stuck behind glass like traditional museum pieces.

The exhibition ends with two neon-lit glass cases containing examples of fashion publications about or from Austria, including issues of Wallpaper* and i-D from the late 1990s and locally important magazines like Wiener, Take, and INDIE. This not only places Austrian fashion design in the wider context of style shifts in graphic design, photography, and typography, but shows that, though the Alpine republic isn’t the first place you think of when it comes to contemporary fashion, it is more than a museum for classic styles from the past.

INFORMATION

‘SHOW OFF: Austrian Fashion Design’, MAK (Museum of Applied Arts), until 12 July. mak.at

ADDRESS

Museum of Applied Arts
Stubenring 5, 1010 Wien
Austria

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‘The shape of a T-shirt is so simple and beautiful,’ says Vivienne Westwood in her 2014 autobiography. ‘You are aware of the cloth, of the body, but also of an image: it is a canvas’. A new exhibition, T-Shirt: Cult - Culture - Subversion, at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, celebrates the socio-political power of this universal garment, one used as a visual tool for conveying cultural statements and protestations.

Westwood and her then partner Malcolm McLaren gained prominence in the late Sixties for their creation of DIY T-shirts, embellished with glitter glue, chains, provocative images and typography. Be it a black T-shirt bearing the word ‘Rock’ spelt in chicken bones, a white tee with two cowboys in hats, boots and naked from the waist down, or another style with studs spelling ‘Venus’, the duo used Letterism as a powerful tool to convey their anti-establishment, punk outlook.

‘T-shirt: Cult - Culture - Subversion’ is on display at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London

‘T-shirt: Cult - Culture - Subversion’, features a selection of Westwood’s T-shirt designs, from the coveted archive styles sold from her Kings Road boutique in Chelsea, to more modern ‘Climate Revolution’ iterations which convey her environmentalist outlook today. The exhibition also presents an expansive range of T-shirts by other creatives, which hang from colourful mannequins or are presented on graphic metal plinths. Look out for pro-recycling slogan designs by Henry Holland, squiggle pop art Aids awareness prints by Keith Haring, and artist Jeremy Deller’s slogan T-shirts, bearing tabloid headlines, like ‘My Drug Shame’ and ‘My Booze Hell.’

No exhibition on the political power of the T-shirt would be complete without the creative output of Katharine Hamnett. The British designer has been making slogan T-shirts since the Eighties. Her first ‘Choose Life’ slogan style was sported by George Michael on Top of the Pops, and last September the designer released a ‘Cancel Brexit’ tee. She also famously wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan ‘58% Don’t Want Pershing’ to meet with Margaret Thatcher in 1984, in response to the public’s reaction to US nuclear missiles being moved to UK soil.

Percentages have also been at the forefront of contemporary British politics, with the close European Referendum being totalled at 51.89 per cent voting to leave the EU. Hamnett has just launched her ‘Second Referendum Now’ T-shirt in protest. ‘In a democracy people have their right to change their mind,’ she says. ‘They were given incorrect figures and information regarding the impact of leaving the European Union. What’s so sad is that things which were going on in the Eighties are as relevant now as they were then. We’re at the tipping point and it’s time to act. ‘It’s not just about buying a t-shirt, you have to follow up on your beliefs.’

INFORMATION

’T-shirt: Cult – Culture – Subversion’ is on view until 6 May. For more information, visit the Fashion and Textile Museum website

In 20 quick years, The Rug Company has blazed the trail for tasteful, contemporary rugs with its blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern aesthetics, so much so that many have come to expect nothing less. Not only has The Rug Company championed the use of fine raw materials and the quality of Nepalese weaving, it’s also pioneered the recruitment of designers outside of the interiors world to try their hand at creating rug patterns – a move that has garnered much success.

To celebrate this monumental birthday, The Rug Company is launching a celebratory capsule collection of five new designs from some of its most lauded collaborators. Alexander McQueen, Kelly Wearstler, Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood and The Rug Company co-founder Suzanne Sharp are the creatives behind the new works. Debuted during London Design Festival and now exhibited in New York, the ‘TRC20’ collection will tour the company’s showrooms worldwide.

Like the company’s comprehensive offering, the ‘TRC20’ collection showcases an array of styles. From Kelly Wearstler’s expressive brushstrokes that have been translated in copper-toned silk on Tibetan wool, and Paul Smith’s recognisable stripes that feature an array of colours which seamlessly blend into each other, to Alexander McQueen’s photographic floral still-life design that has been produced in a limited edition of 40; each rug is a testament to the caliber of the company’s artisans who turn each concept into a reality.

Vivienne Westwood’s magnified tartan, which features her custom created 2007 ‘Gold Label’ pattern that’s been oversized for graphic appeal, and Suzanne Sharp’s geometric ‘Bonavita’ design – inspired by the tiles of an old Maltese church – are no different with their crisp sharpness and invigorating colour palettes. 

The collection’s significance has been captured through the lens of photographer Mary McCartney, who shot each designer in their studio space and filmed them behind the scenes, for an extra special look at the creative process. Filled with candid divulgements and peeks into rarely-seen worlds, the images celebrate the personal and the artistic, as The Rug Company continues to be.

INFORMATION

The 'TRC20' exhibition continues until 22 October. For more information, visit The Rug Company website

ADDRESS

The Rug Company
88 Wooster Street
10012
New York

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Scene setting: The scene of this season’s men’s shows has had an athletic twist, Martine Rose using colourful rock climbing walls as the backdrop to her catwalk show, and Kent & Curwen assembling its models together as if they were sitting for a sporting team photograph. For its S/S 2018 show, Vivienne Westwood chose the Seymour Leisure Centre as its location, an apt venue considering the energy with which Westwood’s and her husband and designer partner Andreas Kronthaler's band of models danced, cartwheeled and sashayed down the catwalk.

Mood board: The collection was an energetic celebration of all things Westwood – historic silhouettes, tailoring, tartans and majestic crown headwear. A male model strode the catwalk in a shiny black floor-length dress with a deeply exposing V-neck, while a female model turned ballet dancer performed in point shoes and a white lace dress, cut using Westwood’s famed body-cinching precision. Vivienne Westwood has always been a strong supporter of environmentalism, a stance even more potent since Donald Trump’s decision earlier this month to pull America from the Paris agreement. Her position against climate change (one often explored readily in her collections) came in water bottles and detritus attached the legs of models, prints featuring doodles of the word ‘economy’ and vast cash sums, and a sweater stamped with a muddied footprint.

Best in show: Vivienne Westwood voiced her support for Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, who emerged seemingly victorious from last week’s General Election in the UK, despite not winning. Westwood, too, appeared victorious, appearing on the cawalk in a wildly Instagrammed moment, on the shoulders of a made model, clad in an ace of spade print vest, white doodled leggings, platforms and a wonderfully triumphant expression.

In fashion, a seminal moment will occasionally transpire that will etch itself irreversibly in the consciousness of the industry at large.

When Vivienne Westwood showed her spring collection at Paris’ Grand Hotel in 1994, it was a perfect storm of a designer at the height of her powers coupled with an unparalleled cast of runway talent that would come to redefine the industry. Luckily, for those that missed it, the show is the subject of a new exhibition of photographs – at London’s Webber Gallery Space and by photographer Steve Harries – entitled Vivienne Westwood, Café Society, 1994.

A visual and sensual extravaganza, the show featured the likes of supermodels Nadja Auermann, Yasmin le Bon, Helena Christensen and Kate Moss decked out in creations of rustling silk and taffeta, squeezed into corsets and strutting insouciantly to a soaring baroque soundtrack. The show debuted at a time when Westwood was exploring the exchange of sartorial ideas between France and England, and thus the result was in part a reference to 19th century France and an homage to the influential British couturier Charles Worth, while the volume of each gown and train had reached maximum proportions due to a collaboration with her husband and design partner Andreas Kronthaler.

Backstage, a young Harries – then a 21-year old student at Central St Martins – was assisting fellow photographer and friend Gavin Bond, who were both given a rare chance to record what would become a seminal moment in British fashion. 'It was incredibly exciting', he tells Wallpaper*. 'I had experienced being backstage at Saint Martins graduate shows and was surprised at how comparatively calm this felt. People were privileged to be there and worked hard – with my limited knowledge of fashion at the time I still knew the collection was special.'

Westwood – an inspiring and generous presence to the assembled backstage cast – asked Harries to document the collection’s details, including the shoes and accessories, during which time he took the images that form the exhibition. After processing the films in Paris following the show and hand printing the bromide prints, the final images lay untouched in a shoebox in his home for over 20 years.

Though he was initially reluctant to show the images after so many years, Harries relented when he realised aesthetic similarities between the images and his current work. 'These pictures have a certain spontaneity that I love, as well as evoking an obvious sense of nostalgia,' he says.

INFORMATION

’Steve Harries: Vivienne Westood, Café Society, 1994’ is on view until 20 March. For more information, visit Webber Gallery Space’s website

Photography courtesy the artist and Webber Gallery Space

ADDRESS

Webber Gallery Space
18 Newman Street
London, W1T 1PE

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Givenchy: We returned to last season's high school hall for Riccardo Tisci's A/W jumble show. A miscellaneous match of items including arcade games, helmets and out-of-date TV screens decorated the multi-coloured court lines of the Parisian sports hall. The assembled audience watched from a range of velvet armchairs or foldaway garden chairs

Louis Vuitton: For the French brand's second run at its impressive Louis Vuitton Fondation location, all the action was transported outside to an installation of transparent, Buckminster Fuller-esque domes

Louis Vuitton: Designed by Es Devlin, the geodesic structure's seating was splashed with a mix of futuristic tangerine, brown and stark white as natural sunlight flooded the catwalk

Thakoon: Thai-American designer Panichgul Thakoon joined forces with Jonathan Beck on behalf of Dizon Inc to play with high impact colour for Thakoon's A/W set. Tinted film room dividers created a somewhat psychedelic effect as light bounced off them in all directions

Chanel: The luxury brand once again fulfilled expectations (and appetites) with its transformation of the Grand Palais into the 'Brasserie Gabrielle'. Three operational pop-up bars were equipped with Parisian waiters, coffee and newspapers, while the space was set with red leather banquets, wood boiserie panelling and bistro tiled flooring.

Prada: Pastel hues and metallic panelling turned Via Fogazzaro into a futuristic realm for Miuccia Prada's A/W offering

Prada: The show's 'Softer Pop' clothes floated through Mrs Prada's pastel space odyssey made up of diamond shaped silver flooring and ceilings

1205: Palm trees and tumbling foliage were the striking accoutrements to 1205's greenhouse show. The Barbican Centre's central conservatory provided a jungle escape for Paula Gerbase's utility inspired collection. The contrast of brutalism and green leafage set a serene scene for the elegantly tailored collection.

Dsquared2: In comparison to the past season where set designer Stefano Grossi re-created an actual apartment interior for the Caten twin's show, for A/W he went with a more graphic approach. A heavenly white staircase cascaded from a dimly lit, tiled marble entrance from which the models stormed the venue

Edun: New York's Skylight event space was left unembellished for this season's Edun show, leaving the venue's Stefan Beckman block installation to take centre stage. The set designer's studio created twin geometric structures that provided a narrow entrance for Edun's multi-cultural collection

Moncler Grenoble: On Valentine's Day evening we were welcomed into Moncler's 'love factory' inside the Duggal Greenhouse warehouse space within the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Set against a crimson draped backdrop, the action took place about a vibrant red, heart-shaped box. This later opened to reveal an array of his 'n' her Moncler outfits, each primed for a winter sport, before the male and female models took part in a kissing finale

Opening Ceremony: Humberto Leon and Carol Lim once again partnered up with Spike Jonze for their latest unorthodox showcase. This season, the white washed walls of New York's Cheim & Read gallery were plastered with a collage of photography by the American creative, which included profile images of both actresses and musicians

Tommy Hilfiger: There was a rush of all-American spirit surrounding the Tommy Hilfiger show in New York. For the brand's 30th anniversary Randall Peacock's design studio transformed the Park Avenue Armory into a Gridiron football field. Kitted out with 'Hilfiger' scoreboards, floodlights and even a Jumbotron, the stadium waited for the 'players' to storm down the green and compete in sportswear's finest

Dior: Upon returning to the Musée du Louvre, Raf Simons conjured a feminine glass box for Dior's A/W presentation. Producers Bureau Betak juxtaposed the soft pink flooring with thick black pillars and clean white benches, while huge windows offered striking vistas of the sandstone Cour Carrée

Wunderkind: Within the walls of the modern art emporium that is the Palais de Tokyo, autumn's Wunderkind collection was presented under a graphic mirrored enclosure. The concept, by Edwin Lemberg and Christian Weinecke, manipulated the spatial area through huge slanted mirrors that reflected faceted views of the collection around the clinical venue.

Emilio Pucci: Milan's Palazzo Serbelloni offered a palatial farewell to outgoing designer Peter Dundas. The Napoleonic room posed as a grand backdrop for Dundas' astrologically inspired collection, with its gold plating and crystal chandeliers shedding a glistening glow on all below.

Philipp Plein: In true Plein style, the showman's audience was given another thrilling performance to remember. A live music set by Azealia Banks kicked off proceedings, while a giant rollercoaster raced around the darkened theatre hall - save for the banner #pleinwarriors that shone in bright lights

Moncler Gamme Rouge: The outerwear giant took to the great outdoors for its Gamme Rouge showing at the Grand Palais. Equestrian models rode over an autumnal runway that was strewn with a patchwork of crispy brown leaves and green foliage

Kenzo: As creative sets go, Kenzo definitely rose to the occasion for A/W with its moving Paris installation. A 20-foot tall backdrop glided effortlessly across the enormous show space before splitting into six different blocks. The structures then rotated on the spot, revealing foiled metallic sides, which shone rainbow reflections onto Humberto Leon and Carol Lim's collection

Erdem: Back at London's Old Selfridges Hotel, Erdem Moralioglu enlisted the help of set designer Robin Brown to resurrect his A/W muse's fictional 1960s Parisian pied-à-terre

Erdem: Under the moody, shadowed lighting, the stained yellow wallpaper and tousled furniture brought a personal narrative to the artful presentation

Erdem: The retrofied apartment took some seven days to construct and fit-out

Versace: Dontella Versace's models arrived through a commanding red and black backdrop derived from the outer edges of the house's Medusa logo. Although the collection itself was more modest this season, the mood remained seductive thanks to the venue's dim boudoir glow and scarlet Perspex runway

Lacoste: In comparison to last season's themed set, for A/W Bureau Betak gave the spotlight to the brand's sportswear. The Lincoln Centre theatre offered a raw setting with white marking lines leading models around giant concrete pillars

Mary Katrantzou: One of the Royal Horticultural Halls was turned into a girl-power paradise for the Mary Katrantzou's presentation.

Mary Katrantzou: Bureau Betak created a spongy Barbie pink studded runway for the designer's cocktail attire to bounce over.

Proenza Schouler: The New York-based brand ran its sharply tailored collection down a stone tiled catwalk for A/W. Under low-hung lights, a backlit installation loomed over the venue's warm atmosphere.

Antonio Marras: The Milanese designer's gilt embellished set posed the perfect setting to compliment a show dedicated to Italian style icon Benedetta Barzini. Ornately printed walls offered an elaborate backdrop, while 18th century rugs marked the runway

Tod's: The Italian brand took over the Baroque setting of Milan's Palazzo Litta for its A/W runway presentation

Tod's: Deep red walls and gold seating dominated the opulent setting. The Italian brand's models entered from ceiling-high doorways as elaborate mirrors reflected the brand's A/W looks

Fendi: Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp's geometric abstractions boldy coloured both the Roman house's A/W show space and collection. Taeuber-Arp's distinctive style resonated in the graphic prints that ran along each side of the Via Solari venue

Hunter Original: Within the industrial surrounds of London's Albert Embankment Warehouse, Hunter creative director Alasdhair Willis continued his water world theme. This season, a trio of tumbling waterfalls flowed through the darkened venue

Maison Margiela: Although Paris' Grand Palais if often a rather, well, grand affair, Maison Margiela's high gloss white tunnel provided a sterile, blank canvas for John Galliano's first ready-to-wear collection

Marni: Consuelo Castiglioni 's Amazonian A/W 2015 collection was presented in an industrial-style den. The raw set space featured worn down plastered walls, rough grey pillars and a waxy red runway that drew the eye to the main event

The show notes decreed 'the first look alone would say everything' and who are we to disagree with the British Dame herself. But in true Westwood fashion, there was a lot more than one fluted swing coat to the fashion icon's swagger. Mining the wardrobe of both the 1950s and 1980s housewife, the designer offered up a women 'born in the privileged world' who was warmly looked after, and able to take her pick from skirt suits cut from either era, be it a polite plaid (complete with a signature Westwood bustle), or a racy, zip-up black leather version. Either way, the Red Label woman was lavish: dripping in furs, pearls or pillbox hats, with rouge on both her lips and cheeks, just as she boldly wore her heart on extended jacket lapels.

Photography: Jason-Lloyd Evans