Never mind the photographers, what about the stylists?
I’m a complete sucker for art and photography books (and am very proud of the Bruce Weber ‘Branded Youth’ book I received for my birthday from D – total gobsmacking surprise) but have been wondering why no-one’s done a book celebrating stylists? In my ideal book there would be a profile on my favourite stylists (Venetia Scott, Joe McKenna, Lucinda Chambers, Caroline Baker), alongside pictures of their work, maybe an interview with them and I’d love, love, love to see what their house looks like (although you can see Venetia Scott’s in the current UK Vogue, and very nice it is too).
Well, some of this has been addressed in Sarah Mower’s book, Stylists: The Interpreters of Fashion which comes out on 30th October. Featured stylists include Paul Cavaco, Grace Coddington, Carine Roitfeld, Venetia Scott (yay!) so it should be a goodun.
Another book that is reportedly in the pipeline is one by Alex Michon who was the unsung heroine responsible for The Clash’s styling and quite possibly the person to thank for our unending passion for all things military and punk. Not safety-pins-through-noses punk, but the heartbreaking androgyny of army surplus, boilersuits, overcoats, berets and the like. Michon is apparently working on a book about her time with The Clash and I am hoping to interview her for this blog in the not-too-distant future.
18 October, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
How great that interview would be? Can’t wait. And I think you are completely wright, stylist’s work is understimated.
18 October, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
About time! All sounds great, cannot wait to have a look and read ;)
18 October, 2007 @ 8:47 pm
YES it would be an awesome interview! You got a great gift. Thanks for the heads up on Mowers’s book. Happy Birthday!
18 October, 2007 @ 9:29 pm
P.S Happy Birthday
Charlotte Stockdale’s place looked cool too (in this months Vogue).
;)
19 October, 2007 @ 12:00 pm
I’d love that book, whenever it comes out…
PS. I finally got a few Vogue India pics up on the blog. Come and see, if you want to.
19 October, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
I echo Vkstro – That would be an awesome interview. I agree, stylists are a neglected minority in terms of who gets covered. Or you get the lame celebrity stylists who get tons of press like Rachel Zoe. I mean I think Zoe has talent, but very different pt. of view from someone like Alex Michon…
22 October, 2007 @ 12:36 am
Hello. Sorry to intrude.
I’ve been on a hunt to find the short film JALOUSE online and i’ve had no luck.
I read on a bloggers site, your comment actually, saying you have it.
Is there any way you could possibly put it up for download? Or maybe point me in the right directon to find the film? I’ve been searching like a mad women for this film and no luck at all has come my way.
Thank you.
22 October, 2007 @ 11:40 am
yayy. On the christmas list…
god, forget Venetia, I’d love to see Carine’s pad! Can you imagine?
22 October, 2007 @ 2:28 pm
The book sounds great, I will check it out.
23 October, 2007 @ 4:34 am
I can’t wait to have this book in my hands! I always wondered the same too, why no one has ever done a book about stylists before??
Thanks for this post.
24 October, 2007 @ 3:17 pm
It is simple. We don’t own any rights to the shoots that we work on so a book becomes a nightmare – unless of course you are Grace and then no photographer is going to deny your simple request for rights of publishing a shoot that you worked on together.
I wish there were more books on us but it isn’t likely to happen too soon – the Rizzoli book will be good but it will be interesting to see how recent the book goes up to.
It is also like Robin’s new book – really only a handful of covers covered from the 90’s onwards.
Ah we can but hope …….
25 October, 2007 @ 12:51 am
Fab post.
26 October, 2007 @ 2:24 pm
I can’t wait for this book. I agree with you, and I think fashion hordes don’t estimate as high as they deserve their work. Thanks for telling;)
27 October, 2007 @ 8:58 am
I’ve been itching to know who’s featured in the book…
You’ve scratched that itch! Thanks muchly!
31 October, 2007 @ 6:07 am
Where have you been? Let me quess… You lost internet connection after moving… How did that go btw? Oh, have a laptop you say… Vacation? BIG photo shoot? Maybe a well deserved break… Or just off visiting the Wizard…or maybe in WONDERLAND? Comeback soon!
4 November, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
Okay so I love you, and am thus linking you.
Yay!