FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS
Coffee Table Books and Fashion Photography: An Inseparable History
How, in 2021, have coffee table books remained a staple of interior design amidst the rise of the digital age? The answer lies in the fashion photography industry, as it has an undeniable similarity to the purpose of the coffee table book itself: a definition of taste.
Coffee table books serve not only as a means of bringing a room together but, in fact, allow one to share their “personal style, taste and preference,” according to prestigious coffee table book publisher MENDO (Addison Rizer for Book Riot, “COFFEE TABLE BOOKS: THEIR ORIGIN, PRECURSORS, AND RISE TO POPULARITY”).
While there are coffee table books in every imaginable topic, its most popular and enduring form has proven to be focused upon fashion photography. These works– ranging from odes to taste making giants such as Vogue, YSL, Dior, Chanel, and Valentino, to collections of photographs of famous models, to celebrations of the careers of some of the most notable names in the industry– bridge the gap between high art and the everyday.
Photograph from “Five Must Have Coffee Table Books for the Fashion Maven,” Karah Van Kammen, October 5, 2017, https://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/valleygirlblog/news/five-must-coffee-table-books-fashion-maven/
Coffee table books and fashion photography themselves are quite similar in their purpose; both are a channel through which elevated art forms can be made accessible to a broader audience. Fashion photography’s ability to define taste both on the wall of a gallery or museum setting and within the pages of innumerable coffee table books is what makes it such a powerful medium. Essentially, the two have often been paired together due to the nature of their symbiotic relationship– fashion photography is a medium able to combine multiple artistic modes into one image and spread its knowledge to a wider audience than most art forms, and the coffee table book is an accessible means by which one can add the prestige of high art to their own interior space.
One can find hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to elicit the power of the most famous photographs, stunning designs, and biggest names in the fashion industry simply by opening the book on the modest coffee table in front of them– a humble yet assertive vehicle for exploring, reflecting upon, and even evolving within one’s own style.
Based on the historical success of fashion photography books it is clear that we consistently resonate with this medium. Photography and fashion photography books offer educational micro galleries of hundreds of images, and each book is conveniently bound into mindfully curated collections that can be accessed from the comfort of our living rooms. This not only offers us the chance to immerse ourselves in the world of photography, but to have an informed opinion when it comes to the next step: choosing which images we would like to adorn our walls. Many public figures have already taken it to the next level, with celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Dakota Johnson, Bruce Willis, and John Dempsey publicizing their interiors and art collections.
Below you will find a list of the fashion photography coffee table books that have touched us the most. We hope that they inspire you to decorate your table– and even your walls– with works that embody the very essence of luxury and style.
Sources:
- “COFFEE TABLE BOOKS: THEIR ORIGIN, PRECURSORS, AND RISE TO POPULARITY,” Addison Rizer for Book Riot, April 13, 2021, https://bookriot.com/history-of-coffee-table-books/
- “The 20 Fashion Books You Need On Your Coffee Table,” VOGUE Paris, 5 August 2019, https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/article/the-20- fashion-books-you-need-on-your-coffee-table
