The best coffee table books to gift every fashion connoisseur this Christmas

Whether you’re looking to unlock the secrets of the universe, invest time into a new hobby, or simply pass the time in a quaint and relaxing way you’ll find that and more among these pages. Don’t be stuck for conversation or be forced to looking at shabby wallpaper, feast your eyes and mind on these stunning fashion coffee-table gold instead. Penned by It girls and industry icons, these are the fashion books that every fashion connoisseur must have.

20th-Century Fashion. 100 Years of Apparel Ads

Taschen, €23.72

In this illustrated fashion story, 400 fashion advertisements from the Jim HeimannCollection trace not only the changing trends and silhouettes of the 20th century but also the evolution in their marketing, as fashion developed from an exclusive Parisian salon business into today’s global mega-industry.

Chanel: The Karl Lagerfeld Campaigns

Thames and Hudson, €69.58

When Karl Lagerfeld was appointed to the helm of the then-sleepy fashion house Chanel in 1983, he set out to radically reinvent its image—not only through bold collections, but also by shooting the house’s campaigns himself. Lagerfeld’s photographs breathed life into the brand. Now, his campaigns span the house’s collections—luxurious haute couture, ready-to-wear, cruise, accessories—and have established Lagerfeld as a sought-after fashion photographer. Organized chronologically, Chanel: The Karl Lagerfeld Campaigns includes a carefully curated selection of photographs that showcase hundreds of spectacular clothes worn by the top fashion models and personalities of each era. Women including Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Kate Moss are photographed in glamorous locations such as Coco Chanel’s Paris apartment, the French Riviera, and Rodeo Drive. Filled with more than 600 photographs, plus an essay by fashion writer Patrick Mauriès, the book offers an unrivaled overview of the house of Chanel as seen through the eyes—and lens—of Karl Lagerfeld himself

Fashion Designers A–Z 2020 Edition

Taschen: €75.90

From Azzedine Alaïa and Coco Chanel to Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, this stunning book celebrates a century’s worth of fashion greats. This edition features photographs of approximately 500 garments selected from the permanent collection of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, distilling the unique philosophy and aesthetics of each featured designer.

This is Not a F*cking Street Style Book by Adam Katz Sinding

THE KALM STORE, €104.36

This is Not a F*cking Street Style Book is the first monograph of cult photographer and influencer, Adam Katz Sinding (aka Le 21ème), an astute documentarian of major fashion events, top brands, tastemakers, and trendsetters since 2003. For a long time, streetwear was nothing more than the rebel kid brother of high fashion. With his candid, fashion forward-scouting photos, Katz Sinding shows how streetwear has transformed into a leading style reference pioneering trends, championing creativity, and inspiring high fashion designers the world over. Today, the flair of streetwear is as likely to be seen on the runways of Milan, New York, and London as on the streets themselves. This bold fashion book brings together Katz Sinding’s most striking streetwear images, both on the streets and backstage at more than 20 fashion shows around the globe.

Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue

Mendo: €60

Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue showcases some of the most memorable photographs published in British and American Vogue from 1972 to 2002, stories created by the iconic fashion editor Grace Coddington. Both monograph and memoir, the book shows how Coddington transformed static studio portraiture into modern vivid tableaux and turned location shoots into cinematic narratives.

Grace’s commentary gives behind-the-scenes insight into many famous images and fashion personalities, from the iconic shoot of a bikinied Naomi Campbell in Irving Penn’s studio to Steven Meisel’s boundary-pushing grunge aesthetic in nineties Vogue. This volume features photography by Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Cecil Beaton, Guy Bourdin, Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Steven Klein, Peter Lindbergh, among others. This book shows true insight into an industry legend.

The Incomplete: Highsnobiety Guide to Street Fashion and Culture By Gestalten

Urban Outfitters: €56.93

Street fashion and urban culture have come a long way from humble beginnings in the ‘90s. From disparate local scenes in Japan, Europe and the US, the youth-driven movements of hip-hop, punk, and skateboarding have finally infiltrated high fashion, finding brands eager to collaborate with the music + art icons at the forefront of this culture. Shoppers stand in line for hours to be the first to own exclusive pieces designed by the likes of Pharrell Williams, Kanye West and Tom Sachs. Based in New York, Berlin and Tokyo, lifestyle publication Highsnobiety is at the forefront of this global phenomenon. The Incomplete immortalizes the stories of brands ranging from Supreme to COMME des GARÇONS. Alongside the most influential designers and tastemakers, Higsnobiety highlights the pieces and brands in men’s fashion which have stood the test of time.

This article was originally published in 2018.