Catalog—catalog.nypl.org:
NYPL uses the Library of Congress Subject headings to help navigate the catalog.
- Searching by “Subject” can be a great way to begin
- The most commonly used terms are:
- Clothing and dress
- Costume
- Costume Design
- Costume -- History
- Fashion
- Fashion designers
- Fashion -- History
- Fashion photography
- Specific designers- last name first, e.g. Dior, Christian
- Subject headings can be subdivided by geographic location or country. (Some examples are listed below).
- One can also research Fashion catalogs, exhibitions, directories, etc.:
- Related headings of use may be:
- Subject headings may be divided by ethnicity, time period, region, or country
Catalog—catalog.nypl.org:
Searching the Library’s online catalog can serve as the first step in order to see if the library holds books on specific fashion designers. Books are good sources for well-known designers, but may not be available for ones that are lesser known.
There are different ways to search for books on individual designers:
-
The best way is to search under “Subject” --- LastName, FirstName
- e.g. Dior, Christian
- It is with this type of search that you can find material about the fashion designer such as biographies, exhibitions, catalogs, etc...
-
You can also search by fashion house under “Subject” -- FashionHouseName (Firm)
-
e.g. Prada (Firm)
-
- You can also do an “All Fields” search If your subject searches provide you with little or no results.
For a more detailed guide on researching fashion designers please visit our guide on How to Research an Artist.
(Examples of Popular titles are found below.)
50 Contemporary Fashion Designers You Should Know by
Today's designers are savvier and more daring than ever before. Happy to exist within or outside the established houses of haute couture, their reputations are cemented by smart consumers who are willing to navigate the thin line between setting and following trends. This book of the most creative and iconoclastic members of today's fashion scene includes Fashion Week regulars and cutting-edge up-andcomers. Each designer is profiled in double-page spreads that include runway-ready products as well as notes, sketches, and biographical information. These 50 men and women have embraced the global, economic, and environmental.
Call Number: 746.9209 SISBN: 9783791347134Publication Date: 2012
Black Designers in American Fashion by
From Elizabeth Keckly's designs as a freewoman for Abraham Lincoln's wife to flamboyant clothing showcased by Patrick Kelly in Paris, Black designers have made major contributions to American fashion. However, many of their achievements have gone unrecognized. This book, inspired by the award-winning exhibition at the Museum at FIT, uncovers hidden histories of Black designers at a time when conversations about representation and racialized experiences in the fashion industry have reached all-time highs.In chapters from leading and up-and-coming authors and curators, Black Designers in American Fashion uses previously unexplored sources to show how Black designers helped build America's global fashion reputation. From enslaved 18th-century dressmakers to 20th-century "star" designers, via independent modistes and Seventh Avenue workers, the book traces the changing experiences of Black designers under conditions such as slavery, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement. Black Designers in American Fashion shows that within these contexts Black designers maintained multifaceted practices which continue to influence American and global style today.Interweaving fashion design and American cultural history, this book fills critical gaps in the history of fashion and offers insights and context to students of fashion, design, and American and African American history and culture.
Call Number: Sc E 21-1118ISBN: 9781350138469Publication Date: 2021
Fashion 150 by
Featuring over 500 photographs and original illustrations, this is the complete guide to the designers, brands, movements and style icons that have created the history of international fashion from the 1860s all the way to today. This encyclopedic volume, with over 150 entries, is both a reliable, up-to-date reference work and an inspirational look at the creativity and excitement of fashion. The many forces that influence fashion are included - from luxurious haute couture and bespoke tailoring to innovative youth countercultures and phenomenally successful mass-market brands. Each entry includes multiple images and a comprehensive text covering the historical, cultural, aesthetic and technical aspects of its subject. Material details are discussed throughout the book, as are the creative and multidisciplinary aspects of fashion. Covering everyone from Azzedine Alaïa to Yohji Yamamoto and everything from Boho Chic to Space Age Style, this is an indispensible and delightful guide to the sophisticated world of fashion.
Call Number: JQG 16-797ISBN: 9781780676203Publication Date: 2016
Fashion Designers' Sketchbooks by
Fashion Designers' Sketchbooks provides a revealing insight into the design process of some of the major names in the fashion industry. Garments on the catwalk are juxtaposed with lookbooks, original research material, and finished illustrations, giving a new perspective on the working methods of leading international designers. This unique approach makes the book a fascinating resource for both students and designers.
Call Number: TT509 .D38 2010gISBN: 9781856696838Publication Date: 2010
Fashion Designers' Sketchbooks 2 by
Following the success ofFashion Designers' Sketchbooks, this second volume shines a light on the work of a new line-up of major names in the fashion industry. Photographs, sketches, moodboards, lineups, muslins, swatches, and more all feed the creative processes that forge fashion designs, and here they are brought together to reveal how the final collections are conceived and developed. Juxtaposing the original research material and drawings with the garments shown on the catwalk and in lookbooks provides fresh insight into the working methods of leading international designers and the role of different media in creating their collections. Students and designers will find this a fascinating and invaluable resource as they develop their own work. Rick Owens, Clements Ribeiro, and Marios Schwab are just some of the prominent designers featured. Interviews in which they discuss the importance of their research run alongside their respective sketchbooks, providing an inspirational overview of cutting-edge approaches to fashion.
Call Number: JQG 13-688ISBN: 9781780672892Publication Date: 2013
Fashion Designers A-Z. by
From Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Coco Chanel to Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood, more than a century's worth of fashion greats from the permanent collection of The Museum at FIT in New York City are celebrated in this fresh edition of Fashion Designers A-Z. 15 new names join the ranks of the industry's most admired--Phoebe Philo, Patrick Kelly, and Sonia Rykiel, to name a few--in this updated and expanded release showcasing some 500 garments in the Museum's permanent collection. From an exquisitely embroidered velvet evening gown to Mondrian-influenced minimalist chic, each piece has been selected and photographed not only for its beauty, but for its representative value, distilling the unique philosophy and aesthetics of each of the featured designers. In her introductory essay, the Museum's director and chief curator Valerie Steele writes about the rise of the fashion museum, and the emergence of the fashion exhibition as a popular and controversial phenomenon. International style authority Suzy Menkes contributes a foreword, texts by the museum's curators shine historical light on each label and garment pictured, and 125 drawn portraits by artist Robert Nippoldt pay homage to the creators behind them.
Call Number: 746.9209 FISBN: 9783836578820Publication Date: 2020
Future Beauty by
Future Beauty is the first comprehensive survey of Japanese avant-garde fashion of the last 30 years. Such designers as Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo made an enormous impact on the world fashion scene in the late twentieth century, challenging established notions of beauty and turning fashion into art. Today a new generation of radical designers, among them Tao Kurihara and Jun Takahashi, is fast gaining acclaim. This spectacular book, written by a team of experts led by theeminent fashion historian Akiko Fukai, explores the distinct sensibility of Japanese design - the uniqueness of its form, cut and fabric. Illustrated with over 250 photographs and sketches, Future Beauty is an authoritative and stylish guide to some of the world's most expressive fashion.
Call Number: JQF 14-86ISBN: 9781858945460Publication Date: 2010
The United States of Fashion by Call Number: JQF 21-1613ISBN: 9780847871032Publication Date: 2021-09-07
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