Courtesy of Phaidon.
Each month, our Southampton gallery plays host to an exclusive pop-up bookshop, curated by writers tethered to the artistic community of the Hamptons. Kicking off the the partnership is William “Billy” Norwich, currently Commissioning Editor at Phaidon, alum of Vogue and the New York Times, and author of the novels My Mrs. Brown and Learning to Drive. Representative of the fashion community’s fondness for those Hydrangea-lined villages and hamlets, Norwich has selected his fifteen reads just in time to fulfill our perennial back-to-school book-hankering.
Norwich selected Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue—the acclaimed memoir of Grace Coddington, who is best known for her innovative work while Vogue’s Creative Director—as his premier pick: “A photograph is worth a thousand words? In editor Grace Coddington’s collaborations with the world’s greatest photographers, as collected in her books, it’s multiples of thousands of words, emotion, narrative, mood, relation, aspiration, and of course fashion. Fashion is the medium with which Grace paints and composes stories that are as modern as they are mythic.” Below, the rest of his recommendations—as well as an exclusive excerpt from Coddington’s book for a preview of its industry insights and anecdotes.
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1. Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue
Now lovingly reissued after its 2002 release, Grace is a compilation of some of the best fashion photography of the last thirty years, all produced under the guidance of Coddington. Alongside Coddington’s insider anecdotes, the book contains forewards by Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld, of which you can catch a glimpse:
It’s this ability to take the slightest seed of an idea and grow it into a fabulous narrative that has made Grace the world’s leading fashion editor.
Exclusive Excerpt of Anna Wintour's essay in 'Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion, Grace Coddington,' Phaidon, 2015.
A few years ago, when Vogue was planning a weddings issue, someone came up with the idea that Bruce Weber should photograph dogs exchanging vows. I like dogs, but not usually as fashion models, and Grace is famously a cat woman (she transports four furry friends to the Hamptons every weekend), so I viewed the whole thing with trepidation. But Grace set to work casting those dogs with the same enthusiasm and clairvoyance with which she discovered Kristen McMenamy and Stella Tennant (whom she pressured me to use when the coltish Stella didn’t even know how to walk down the runway); and in the end, she and Bruce produced a shoot in which the canine bridal party was magically chic and poignant. It’s this ability to take the slightest seed of an idea and grow it into a fabulous narrative that has made Grace the world’s leading fashion editor. She always sees fashion in terms of stories, often of an amusingly romantic bent. Say “fashion fairy tale” to Grace and she’ll come back with Aretha Franklin as the Wicked Queen and Beverly Peele in bed with Seven Dwarfs. Say “tartan” and she’ll throw a Highland fling with a plaid-jacketed Linda Evangelista and a clan of plucky bagpipers. Little wonder all the photographers want to work with her—she inspires and challenges them like no one else. She has inspired me for the best part of three decades. When I was a lowly fashion editor at Harpers & Queen, she was already a legend at British Vogue. Years later, when I became editor of American Vogue, the first call I received was from a mutual friend asking if Grace could ring me. I couldn’t have been more thrilled. In the years we’ve worked together, I’ve learned that Grace has the best eye in the business and can sense a trend even before the designers have an inkling of what’s going on. She’s also persistent: If Grace has an idea she will grind me down until I accept it, and she’s usually right. In a flighty business, she’s refreshingly loyal, as well: She values her close friendships above everything and is never distracted by celebrity or the trappings of fame. Grace is always true to herself and to Vogue. The result, is a body of work unmatched by that of any other fashion editor.
2. Grace: The American Vogue Years
A sequel of sorts, Grace: The American Vogue Years showcases Coddington’s work from the last fifteen years, in a lavish collection of photography by Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz, and Steven Meisel, among other masters. In the words of the Financial Times: ”[Coddington] breathes new life into her shoots with behind-the-scenes stories about working with some of the world's most famous actors, photographers, artists and models.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
3. Marc Jacobs Illustrated
Multi-talented Coddington is also known for her illustrations (fashion—and cats, mostly). This volume features fifty collections by Jacobs, enhanced by the groundbreaking designer’s commentary and illustrated by Coddington in her highly personal and vibrant style.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
4. The Fashion Book
Iconic, encyclopedic, and stunningly illustrated, The Fashion Book demystifies the fashion world through tremendously detailed insights into every figure on the sartorial landscape, from icons like Coco Chanel to contemporary leaders like Virgil Abloh and Rihanna.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
5. Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century
The Fashion Book’s heir-apparent, featuring hundreds of the most innovative and visually stunning interiors from more than 25 countries. Interiors includes the stars of interior design, from Colefax & Fowler to Karim Rashid.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
6. Flower Color Guide (Michael & Darroch Putnam)
The Putnam floristry duo are well-known for their artistic and dramatic arrangements. Their comprehensive floral guide is, as the name suggests, organized by color and offers suggestions for flower care and presentation.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
7. Lucian Freud: Life and Work Collection (David Dawson and Mark Holborn)
This two-volume set is a retrospective of one the most important artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Authored by editor and designer Mark Holborn and David Dawson, painter and director of the Lucian Freud Archive, the books probe and celebrate the life, works, and beautiful details of Freud’s oeuvre.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
8. Fabien Baron: Works 1983-2019 (Fabien Baron)
Famously named by Vanity Fair as “the most sought-after creative director in the world,” Fabien Baron has spent over three decades redefining seemingly every aspect of fashion editorial. This volume samples typography, packaging, product, furniture, and interior design from 1983 to 2019 and includes text by New Yorker-writer Adam Gopnik and supermodel Kate Moss.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
9. The Gardener’s Garden (Toby Musgrave, Madison Cox)
A reference guide written by gardens-expert Dr. Toby Musgrave and designer Madison Cox, highlighting over 250 gardens from around the world. The Gardener’s Garden features hundreds of escapist photos and texts by leading writers in the horticultural community.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
10 . Born to Party, Forced to Work: 21st Century Hospitality (Bronson van Wyck)
Bronson van Wyck is the founder of Van Wyck & Van Wyck, a design and event production firm that produces galas, experiences, dinner parties, and weddings, among other anticipated events. His generous (and entertaining) approach to party-throwing is outlined in Born to Party, Forced to Work.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
11. Issues: A History of Photography in Fashion Magazines (Vince Aletti)
Writer, curator, and critic Vince Aletti has compiled an enthusiastic, beautiful, and critical look at one hundred years of photography, surveyed through the lens of fashion. The book contains one hundred magazines covers from his personal archives of publications such as American, British, and French Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, W, and Purple Fashion.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
12. Betak: Fashion Show Revolution (Alexandre de Betak and Sally Singer)
A visual celebration of Alexandre de Betak—who has produced so many awe-inspiring and indelible fashion shows and events. The book delves right into the creative process that has earned him cult status.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
13. Breakfast: The Cookbook (Emily Elyse Miller)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Breakfast takes the essential meal as its premise. The volume elevates breakfast through a series of accessible but insightful recipes from around the world, with contributions from luminaries such as Jason Clotilde Dusoulier, Harumi Kurihara, Meera Sodha, and Manoella Buffara.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
14. Lives of Artists: Collected Profiles (Calvin Tomkins)
A multi-volume reissue of Tomkins’s most important profiles from his sixty-year career articulating artistic identities. Resplendent with insights on artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Cindy Sherman, Lives of Artists is a pleasurable and important read worthy of its Renaissance namesake.
Courtesy of Phaidon.
15. Baroque-Baroque: The Culture of Excess (Stephen Calloway)
A comprehensive exploration of the so-called “culture of excess” that emerged in the twentieth century—in fashion, film, photography, design, and interiors. Country Life referred to it as “the sort of book that could itself become a landmark in taste.”
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