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Cool Fashion Books?

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  • Faust
    kitsch killer
    • Sep 2006
    • 37852

    /\ Exactly.
    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

    StyleZeitgeist Magazine

    Comment

    • beyondthemeans
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2008
      • 479

      Same for me. Browsed trough them this weekend and they are much thinner than expected. Even the selection of pictures was quite boring.

      Comment

      • syed
        Senior Member
        • Sep 2010
        • 564

        It's from Taschen though, so it was obviously going to be pretty light in terms of material. I think they are pretty nice as an (easy to find and buy) introduction to people who don't really know anything about Yohji or Rei.

        Oh and gave Fashion and Death a read - I rather enjoyed it. The Icelander talking to Nature was nice, hit close to home.
        "Lots of people who think they are into fashion are actually just into shopping"

        Comment

        • Shucks
          Senior Member
          • Aug 2010
          • 3104

          do not agree. the books are junk. those brands deserve better and so does anyone interested in learning more about them.

          THIS can be had for less than the price of two of those crap taschen ones...

          Comment

          • syed
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2010
            • 564

            I was thinking more in terms of kids, or just people who are just discovering fashion/designers, given they are all pictures. Yes, they are garbage in the grand scheme of things, and they are all images that have been around Tumblr and the like a million times, but sometimes it's nice to have a physical collection, however disposable. And these books are stocked everywhere, so it's more accessible, and hopefully they get people interested.

            Obviously for anyone who is actually interested and wants to learn there are way better books for the price (V&A exhibition catalogue on Yohji comes to mind, and about a million books on Westwood), but everyone has to start somewhere, and hopefully people pick up one these books and what to find out more. I wouldn't personally buy these, but I still think they serve a purpose.
            "Lots of people who think they are into fashion are actually just into shopping"

            Comment

            • Shucks
              Senior Member
              • Aug 2010
              • 3104

              i don't go to the 'cool fashion books' thread on stylezeitgeist to get tips on shit books. can we please try to be a bit more selective here?

              besides, the kids you are talking about won't read this thread anyway.

              Originally posted by syed View Post
              I was thinking more in terms of kids, or just people who are just discovering fashion/designers, given they are all pictures. Yes, they are garbage in the grand scheme of things, and they are all images that have been around Tumblr and the like a million times, but sometimes it's nice to have a physical collection, however disposable. And these books are stocked everywhere, so it's more accessible, and hopefully they get people interested.

              Obviously for anyone who is actually interested and wants to learn there are way better books for the price (V&A exhibition catalogue on Yohji comes to mind, and about a million books on Westwood), but everyone has to start somewhere, and hopefully people pick up one these books and what to find out more. I wouldn't personally buy these, but I still think they serve a purpose.

              Comment

              • SuE
                Senior Member
                • Jan 2013
                • 173

                Originally posted by Faust View Post
                Laika introduced me to this text and I used it as an introductory text in the fashion writing course I taught at Parsons.
                Could you share the rest of the reading list for your course?
                One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art ― Oscar Wilde

                Comment

                • laika
                  moderator
                  • Sep 2006
                  • 3787

                  Originally posted by Shucks View Post
                  i don't go to the 'cool fashion books' thread on stylezeitgeist to get tips on shit books. can we please try to be a bit more selective here?

                  besides, the kids you are talking about won't read this thread anyway.
                  is it really necessary to be so snobby about books?
                  I don't know what version of sz you are reading, but I notice plenty of people around here who are just starting out. Whether they pick up a taschen book or use this thread to choose a better one really doesn't matter so much in the beginning. bad curation or production doesn't necessarily preclude discovery, at least not for me.

                  in any case, it's useful to hear reviews of a variety of books, even if they wind up being disappointing..
                  ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

                  Comment

                  • Shucks
                    Senior Member
                    • Aug 2010
                    • 3104

                    the sz i know is all about good curation - not catering to the lowest common denominator. so yes, it is necessary, but it has nothing to do with elitism per se. isn't everyone - noobs included - better off if we keep a modicum of discernment, regardless of whether we are talking clothes, books or music? by doing that, everyone saves time and effort sifting through garbage. or should we start posting on levi's jeans and rihanna now too?

                    this thread is "cool fashion books" - not "random crap"

                    Comment

                    • Fuuma
                      Senior Member
                      • Sep 2006
                      • 4050

                      If we stop catering to the lowest common denominator I won't feel at home anymore.
                      Selling CCP, Harnden, Raf, Rick etc.
                      http://www.stylezeitgeist.com/forums...me-other-stuff

                      Comment

                      • laika
                        moderator
                        • Sep 2006
                        • 3787




                        Shucks....i don't see how discussing a book on Rei Kawakubo (not random crap, no matter how subpar the book) is going to lead us to Rihanna and Levi's. Thank you though, for the daily dose of SZ bizarrro world hyperbole.
                        ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

                        Comment

                        • Shucks
                          Senior Member
                          • Aug 2010
                          • 3104

                          i think you get my point though - everyone gains from an sz which has a high concentration of high quality information/recommendations.

                          those books are pure exploitation on brand cachet and bring nothing of value to the table. in fact, i say they add noise and ruin the designer visions they claim to portray.

                          i come to sz because i like the ambition to "divorce fashion from consumerism", however unattainable that may be in practice. and to me that means empty marketing like these dumb books have no place here. i called bullshit on them AND offered a better alternative, so what is the problem?

                          we can do better than this - and perhaps some "kid" will later be happy that he/she spent his/her hard-earned cash on something reccommended here which actually has lasting value instead. good books are for life.

                          Comment

                          • laika
                            moderator
                            • Sep 2006
                            • 3787

                            Originally posted by Shucks View Post
                            i

                            i come to sz because i like the ambition to "divorce fashion from consumerism", however unattainable that may be in practice. and to me that means empty marketing like these dumb books have no place here. i called bullshit on them AND offered a better alternative, so what is the problem?
                            we seem to be talking around each other. it's cool that you critiqued the book and offered a better alternative. i was just objecting to the assertion that the book shouldn't have been mentioned here at all. if nothing else, negative reviews are as useful as positive ones when it comes to sifting through the variety of what's available.

                            sz does indeed provide many good recommendations, but the opinions offered here are hardly the last word. Faust hated Jun Takahashi's issue of A Mag and thought it was a waste of money, but I thought it was awesome and would have regretted missing out had I gone by his "curation." This is a forum, not a museum exhibition.
                            ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

                            Comment

                            • Faust
                              kitsch killer
                              • Sep 2006
                              • 37852

                              Did I? That was so long ago.
                              Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                              StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                              Comment

                              • laika
                                moderator
                                • Sep 2006
                                • 3787

                                ^you were memorably harsh, even for you.

                                http://stylezeitgeist.com/forums/sho...hlight=curated
                                ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

                                Comment

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