Dualité

Ever since picking up “The End of Fashion” a couple of months ago, I’ve been on a reading frenzy and making regular trips to the library, namely La Grande Bibliotheque on St-Denis and De Maisonneuve. As you know I’m always a girl ready to experiment and open my mind to things (coupled with a voracious appetite for news articles).

With the help of trusty old Amazon.com, I’ve picked up a few more books I intend on reading. For Montrealers, check the online listings at the library before buying them, it’ll save you money!

Read

“Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster” by Dana Thomas, published in 2007. This is probably old news that entire fashion industry probably read by now. I still recommend reading it

Currently Reading

“The Cult of The Luxury Brand” by Radha Chadha and Paul Husband, published in 2007. A look inside the booming luxury industry in Asia.

“Trading Up” by Michael J. Silverstein, 2005 edition. This book focuses on American consumers on luxury goods.

“The Emperor of Scent” by Chandler Burr, published in 2002. Burr is a reknown author of several other books referring to the perfume industry, most recently he published “The Perfect Scent” in January 2008, he tagged along how Sarah Jessica Parker came up with Lovely.

“Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich” by Robert Frank, published in 2007. This has nothing to do with fashion, but so far it’s quite an entertaining book on the lives of the upper crust of American society. The concept is fun and lots of facts and figures are thrown in to give you how removed the rich have become from normal society.

Would Like To Read

“Louis Vuitton Japan: The Building of Luxury” by Kyojiro Hata, published in 2004. This book was mentioned in “Deluxe” and spoke of a fascinating take on how Japanese tourists have made Louis Vuitton their #1 luxury brand.

“Luxe” by Christian Blanckaert, published in 2007, French only. This book takes a look at probably one of the last of its kind to “true” luxury, Hermes. Available on Amazon France only, ships internationally. As recommended by The Luxe Chronicles.

“Gomorrah: Italy’s Other Mafia” by Robert Saviano, published in 2008, translated to English from Italian. This book is about the influential ties of the Italian mafia and the Italian fashion industry. Available on Amazon UK only, ships internationally. As recommended by The Luxe Chronicles.

“In the Know: The Classic Guide To Being Cultured and Cool” by Nancy MacDonell, published in 2007. A seemingly tacky title, and an embarrassing one to read in public perhaps, but I trust BoF’s recommendation. So I hope that this book on knowing the who’s who in the industry will be of great help to newbies like myself! As recommended by The Business of Fashion.

I can’t guarantee that all of these books will blow your mind, but I can honestly say that these aren’t image driven books nor are they collections of mini biographies of brand names. They will require time to delve into, most are 300 pages long. There are other books I am keen on reading that are more or less related to the business of fashion such as retail, and I would love to know if there are any books on the textile or fabric industry in the same vein as these. I am a reading machine!