Fashion Biography

Little black dresses. Fake pearls. Jersey knit. Blazers. Ballet flats. Today - and for nearly the last hundred years - we all see some version of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel every time we pass a woman on the street. But few among us realize that Chanel’s role in the events of the twentieth century was as pervasive as her influence on fashion, or how deeply she absorbed and then brilliantly reimagined the historical currents around her.

Cosmopolitan.com editor Amy Odell takes listeners behind the stage of New York's hottest fashion shows to meet the world's most influential models, designers, celebrities, editors, and photographers. But first, she has to push her way through the crowds outside, where we see the lengths people go to be noticed by the lurking paparazzi, and weave her way through the packed venue, from the very back row to the front.

Louis Vuitton was just thirteen years old, when, he left the family mill to escape his stepmother. In Paris, he found work with Maréchal, the most prestigious box-maker and packer in Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Caroline Bongrand's vivid account relates the rise of this daring young man, a virtuoso, visionary craftsman in a capital city transformed by Haussmann. When Eugénie de Montijo became Empress of France, she continued to enlist the services of her favorite packer, with whom she developed a sincere, lasting friendship.

When Ellie Goldstein was first diagnosed with Down Syndrome, her mother was soon told that her new-born would amount to nothing. For 21 years and counting, Ellie Goldstein has been defying the odds and overcoming every hardship thrown at her. Told she wouldn't walk, Ellie has danced on mainstages. Told she wouldn't learn, she has gained a college education. And told not to dream, Ellie has gone on to become the first model with Down Syndrome to be photographed for Gucci and continues to change the face of fashion from the inside out in countless international campaigns.

We all know that the best way to study a foreign language is to go to a country where it's spoken, but can the same immersion method be applied to history? How do interactions with antique objects influence perceptions of the modern world?

McQueen had risen from humble beginnings as the youngest child of an East London taxi driver to scale the heights of fame, fortune and glamour. He designed clothes for the world's most beautiful women, including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. In business he created a multimillion-pound luxury brand that became a favourite with both celebrities and royalty, most famously the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore a McQueen dress on her wedding day. But behind the confident facade and bad-boy image lay a sensitive soul who struggled to survive in the ruthless world of fashion.

North Korea is one of the most troubled societies on earth. The country's 24 million people live under a violent dictatorship led by a single family, which relentlessly pursues the development of nuclear arms, which periodically incites risky military clashes with the larger, richer, liberal South, and which forces each and every person to play a role in the "theater state" even as it pays little more than lip service to the wellbeing of the overwhelming majority.

In this candid memoir, featuring a foreword by Barbra Streisand, renowned designer Donna Karan shares intimate details about her lonely childhood, her four-plus decades in the fashion industry, her two marriages, motherhood, and her ongoing quest for self-acceptance and spiritual peace.

The definitive biography of fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld, written by journalist and author William Middleton, who knew the designer in Paris. In February 2019, the world lost one of its most enduring cultural icons, Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director for the storied House of Chanel for...

In the 1980s, Jill Dodd determines that her ticket out of an abusive home is to make it as a top model in Paris. Armed with only her desire for freedom and independence, she embarks on an epic journey that takes her to uncharted territory - the Parisian fashion industry, with all its beautiful glamour and its ugly underbelly of sex, drugs, and excess.

The iconic Molly Ringwald shares intimate stories and candid advice in this fun, stylish, and sexy girlfriend's guide to life. To her millions of fans Molly Ringwald will forever be sixteen. As the endearing and witty star of the beloved John Hughes classics Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club...

For fashion journalist Lauren (“LoLo”) Scruggs, a short flight to look at Christmas lights turned into a nightmare when she was struck by the plane’s spinning propeller blades. As Lauren was rushed to the hospital, fighting for her life, the world watched in shock and horror. Several major surgeries and thousands of prayers later, Lauren was still alive. But she had suffered brain trauma and lost her left hand and left eye. Some thought that this would be the end of everything for her, a beautiful young woman working in an industry focused completely on appearance. They were wrong.

With $1,500 and no business experience, Mel and Patricia Ziegler turned a wild idea into a company that would become the international retail colossus Banana Republic. Reimagining military surplus as safari and expedition wear, the former journalist and artist created a world that captured the zeitgeist for a generation and spoke to the creativity, adventure, and independence in everyone.

Für Michelle Obama war ihr Kleidungsstil stets ein Mittel, um ihre Botschaft auszudrücken. Ein spannender Blick hinter die Kulissen zeigt, wie Michelle Obamas unverwechselbarer Stil und ihre ikonischen Mode-Looks entstanden. Ihre persönlichen Gedanken darüber, wie wir uns selbst mit Mode ausdrücken und präsentieren, werden ergänzt durch Beiträge von Obamas langjähriger Stylistin Meredith Koop sowie ihrem Visagisten Carl Ray, den Hairstylistinnen Yene Damtew und Njeri Radway und vielen der Designerinnen und Designer, die Michelle Obama für stilvolle Auftritte einkleideten.

Considered "the world's most popular cult novelist" (The Guardian), Haruki Murakami has written books that have galvanized millions around the world. Many of his fans know about his 10,000-vinyl-record collection, and his obsession with running, but few have heard about a more intimate, and perhaps more unique, passion: his T-shirt-collecting habit.

American Dreamer brims with anecdotes that cover Tommy's years as a club kid and scrappy entrepreneur in 1970s New York as well as unique insights into the exclusive A-list personalities with whom he's collaborated and interacted, from Mick Jagger and David Bowie to Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. But this is more than just a fashion icon's memoir - it's a road map for building a brand, both professionally and personally.

Vogue magazine started, like so many great things do, in the spare room of someone's house. But unlike other such makeshift projects that flare up then fizzle away, Vogue burnt itself onto our cultural consciousness. Today, 128 years later, Vogue spans twenty-two countries, has an international print readership upwards of twelve million, and nets over sixty-seven million monthly online users. Uncontested market leader for a century, it is one of the most recognizable brands in the world and a multi-million dollar money-making machine.

Come ha fatto Miuccia Prada a trasformare il negozio del nonno in centro a Milano in uno dei brand del lusso di maggior successo a livello mondiale...

Random House presents the audiobook edition of How to Be an Overnight Success by Maria Hatzistefanis, read by Janice Vee and with an introduction read by the author. "You are not born an entrepreneur. It's a skill that you learn along the way." When the skincare company Rodial launched its cult...

From the iconic stylist and fashion provocateur whose designs transformed culture—bringing the glitz of Studio 54 and the sophistication of Sex and the City to the mainstream—comes a playful yet intimate memoir of a life spent challenging conventions. Carrie Bradshaw’s pairing of a tutu...