Intrigued by the fashion industry? Want to know more about your favorite models’ rise to fame? Curious about how to up your style game? Check out these five fabulous memoirs by some of the most influential people in fashion! With insight from stylists, CEOs and designers, these are the books to pick up for advice if you’re wondering how to succeed in such a competitive industry or if you’re just looking to read about these amazing people’s lives. Check out our suggestions and start reading!
1. Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington
From the former model and current creative director of American Vogue comes a smart, stylish and savvy memoir. A review in the Los Angeles Times says, “The book is a window into how fashion has changed from a small, niche business into a global pop culture medium. It chronicles Coddington's 50 years in the industry, first as a model, then as a fashion editor for British Vogue and finally as creative director for American Vogue, with lots of juicy anecdotes about designers, photographers, celebrities and models.”
Are you curious about the inner workings of magazines? Do you want to know why Coddington hates The Devil Wears Prada? Pick up a copy of this memoir and take a peek behind the scenes of Vogue to find out how Coddington evolved from waitress to model to major creative director.
2. Living in Style: Inspiration and Advice for Everyday Glamour by Rachel Zoe
Everyone’s favorite celebrity stylist and reality star has a book that gives the reader a fun glimpse into her life and style inspiration. She shares her secrets on how to juggle being a designer, celebrity stylist, mom and wife, and with her tips, you’ll learn how to live fashionably and juggle a chaotic workload. Plus, you get to see fun, exclusive photos from Rachel Zoe’s personal archives!
A Publishers Weekly review says that Zoe “fills her latest guide to stylish living with the sound advice you’d expect from such a fashion maven, including how to wear nude platform pumps to make your legs appear longer, exactly where to find her signature black liquid eyeliner (Smashbox Limitless Liquid Liner Pen, in case you’re looking), decorating tips and photos and text about her style icons (including Brigitte Bardot, Bianca Jagger, and Edie Sedgwick).”
If you’ve ever been curious about how Zoe always looks stylish despite her tight schedule, pick up her memoir to find out!
3. #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
This book is an inspirational account of how Amoruso went from community college dropout to founder and CEO of Nasty Gal. An Amazon review quoted by Refinery29 says this book “is deeply personal, yet universal. Filled with brazen wake-up calls ('You are not a special snowflake'), cunning and frank observations ('Failure is Your Invention') and plenty of behind-the scenes stories from Nasty Gal's meteoric rise, #GIRLBOSS covers a lot of ground. It proves that being successful isn't about where you went to college (if you went to college) or how popular you were in high school. Rather, success is about trusting your instincts and following your gut, knowing which rules to follow and which to break.”
If you’re looking for advice for how to succeed in the fashion industry, check this memoir out! It’s full of girl power and shows just how influential women are.
4. Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves by Crystal Renn
Crystal Renn, an internationally known supermodel who overcame an eating disorder and became a plus-size model, delivers us an insightful and eye-opening tale about the pressures society puts on all girls today, not just models. A review in Persephone Magazine says, “In her memoir, Hungry, Renn explores her semi-tumultuous young life growing up in the South, her harmful entry into modeling as a teenager who starved herself down to painful thinness in order to achieve her contract and her sudden awakening as a young woman to her failing health, her mediocre career and, ultimately, her hunger – not just for food, but for life, success and liberation.”
Renn gives us an intimate and frank firsthand account of the pressures she faced and how she overcame them (and how all girls can do the same, too).
5. Dior by Dior by Christian Dior
This memoir is a must-read for fashion-obsessed collegiettes. From one of the geniuses in the industry, Christian Dior, comes a rare glimpse into the world of high fashion. You get all the insider info about what it really takes to put together a collection and build a fashion brand, as well as the chance to learn about one of fashion’s more private designers.
These five books are smart, witty and at the center of a fascinating industry. Whether you want to be the next Rachel Zoe or you just love a good book about fashion, go check out these awesome books!