Design - History & Criticism

Synonymous with tradition, innovation and sophistication, and revered the world over, Milan is the style capital of the world. From Valentino to Versace, alla moda to artisan, and from Sophia Loren to Elsa Schiaparelli, Little Book of Milan Style is the beautifully illustrated guide...

Quirky, daring and unconventionally chic, Miu Miu is the fashion house for those that dare to be different.The cult little sister brand of Prada, the maison was launched as an 'anti-fashion' brand in 1993 and its pieces have been worn by celebrities including Sydney...

From Carrie Bradshaw to Grace Jones, and from Nicki Minaj to Blair Waldorf, New York is the fashion 'it girl' capital of the world. Home of both laid-back street style and the luxury of the MET Gala, New York has earned its reputation as...

Little Book of Prada is the pocket-sized and beautifully illustrated story of the legendary fashion house. Understated elegance and luxury, technologically advanced fabrics and sublime originality of design are all hallmarks of the House of Prada. In this miniature monograph, Laia Farran Graves documents...

Exquisite, timeless and enduring, Rolex is one of the most recognizable and sought-after luxury watch brands in the world. Established in 1905, the British-founded Swiss designer and manufacturer, Rolex, revolutionized the watchmaking industry with ground-breaking and innovative designs that continue to dominate worldwide. From...

Little Book of Schiaparelli chronicles the work of one of history's most influential and eccentric couturiers. Endowed with a strikingly imaginative and experimental approach to fashion, Elsa Schiaparelli cultivated a combination of the witty and the surreal, the cutting edge and the elegant, from...

The last word in luxury, sophistication and romance, Tiffany & Co. has dazzled shoppers since its beginnings in nineteenth-century New York. From Breakfast at Tiffany's to collaborating with Beyoncé, and with celebrity fans including Elizabeth Taylor and Lady Gaga, Tiffany & Co. has taken...

'If you go to Tokyo, I think it becomes very obvious that there's this almost seamless mixture of popular culture and Japanese traditional culture.' - Kazuo Ishiguro From the youthful maximalism of Harajuku to the luxurious sophistication of Ginza, Tokyo is the city of...

Designer, film director and maverick of the fashion world, Tom Ford is synonymous with passion, innovation and some truly astonishing attire. Renowned for his subversive ideas, infinite vision and endless pursuit of excellence, Tom Ford has transformed the fashion landscape as we know it...

Designer, punk, rebel, dame... Vivienne Westwood was all this and more. One of the main architects of the 1970s punk era, the inimitable Westwood refused to take fashion too seriously, finding unique and arresting ways to subvert tradition and challenge the status quo. But...

The largest collection of the stunning pocket-sized fashion books in one luxury boxset. Contains The Little Book of Chanel, The Little Book of Dior, The Little Book of Prada, The Little Book of Gucci, The Little Book of Louis Vuitton, The Little Book of...

Little Guides to Style: The Classics is the beautifully packaged story of four heritage design houses that exemplify elegance and haute couture - Burberry, Chanel, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton. From the timeless Burberry trench to the iconic Louis Vuitton luggage, these four pocket-sized books...

Graduating from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the 1980s, Martin Margiela (and his contemporaries in the Antwerp Six) transformed global fashion with his aggressive restatement of traditional fashion design and a polemical approach to luxury trends. Working first with the house of...

A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read"A powerful and urgent call to action--for the health and safety of half of our population, it's time we rethink the male body ideal and build a world that includes us all." --Dr. Elizabeth Comen, MD, medical oncologist, associate...

A definitive survey of mid-century modern design and architecture in an accessible compact edition, this book offers a rich overview of one of the most popular, collectable, and dynamic periods of design. With rich and diverse examples of everything from furniture and lighting to...

Readers step into the history of Modeline, the brand that revolutionized midcentury modern lighting. Modeline of California: Pioneer of Modern Lighting unveils Bernie Roberts's journey from a penniless machinist to the founder of a company that defined a generation of design. From its roots...

A Paris travel guide and history book about how the World Expos of 1855-1937 shaped the city, from its architecture to its (culinary) customs. Paris is the physical memory of seven World Expos that took place in the city from 1855 to 1937. These...

What it means to design at a time when, for many people, the future seems to have become an impossibility. When reality fails us, what can designers do? Question design's relationship to reality, as Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby do, in this exhilarating, yet...

This is apared-down, demystified overview of the mental operations involved withcreating things aesthetic, i.e., art, design, and the like. It is adisarmingly clearheaded and unsentimental look at the creative process by aneminent creator. The book'sphotographs and design serve as an example of what the...

Molly Bang's brilliant, insightful, and accessible treatise, revised and expanded for its 25th anniversary, that helps provide clarity to the timeless question "what is art?" "A revised and expanded 25th-anniversary edition of Bang's go-to text about visual perception, or 'how pictures work, ' delivers...