Below is an ONTHEBIASDESIGN curated collection of books ranging in topics from fabrics, to fashion business, to fashion history, and more. All of these books have been used by us personally and we believe they may greatly aid you in your fashion journey. These books are for fashion designers, apparel entrepreneurs, label owners, or anyone who wishes to learn more about fashion.
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Books are an extremely time-tested way of both sharing knowledge, and learning. In our opinion, they are one of the best ways in which one can learn about fashion - whether it's design, history, business, etc. - as such a rich breadth of knowledge is shared in each source and in such a concise way and contain a level of knowledge which is seldom achieved with simple YouTube videos or other things.
The books and resources are arranged by section . We will begin with the most essential books.
MOST ESSENTIAL BOOKS
The most essential books for an overview of fashion design and fashion business.
Book #1 - Fashionpedia
This book from Fashionary is an extremely useful and concise guide to fashion design that we reference quite often. If you were to get one book from this entire list, it ought to be this one.
Book #2 - The Fashion Business Manual: An Illustrated Guide to Building a Fashion Brand
Again from Fashionary, this book is an excellent resource for fashion business and serves as an excellent introduction to many of the concepts and proclivities of fashion business: it helps demystify fashion business which can be at times, very intimidating.
BOOKS ON TECHNICAL FASHION DESIGN (BOOKS FOR TECH PACKS)
These books are excellent aid for technical fashion design and for creating tech packs
-See our article on tech packs here
-See our YouTube video on tech packs here
Book #3 - Sewing Seams for Tech Packs
An excellent concise guide to creating tech packs with many examples, this book is an invaluable aid.
Book #4 - 101 Sewing Seams
This book is an excellent supplementary because it is a catalog of seams and can help you identify and chose the correct ones for your designs and tech packs.
Book #5 - The Spec Manual
This will help you with the measurements part of your garment designs. An excellent resource to have.
Book #6 - Complete Guide to Size Specification and Technical Design
Another book to help you with the measurements part of your garment designs. An excellent resource to have. This one is extremely in depth with lots of illustrated examples.
BOOKS ON FABRICS FOR FASHION DESIGN
As a fashion designer, it is paramount that you have a firm grasp on fabric knowledge. These books will help educate you on all the nuances of fabrics and help you identify fabrics types, structures, etc.
Book #7 - Fabrics for Fashion: The Swatch Book
This is perhaps our favorite fabric resource. It includes dozens of swatch samples of fabric so you have something to physically feel when reading about fabrics. How a fabric feels is everything so this is a highly recommended resource for all fashion designers.
Book #8 - The Fashion Designer's Textile Directory: The Creative Use of Fabrics in Design
For a general overview of fabric types and for more education on such things as fabric usage, this is an excellent resource. This book covers an incredible range of fabrics and is an inspiring source.
Book #9 - Fabric Reference
Of all the books about fabric listed here, this one is the most technically in-depth, especially about the manufacturing processes of fabric. Also goes over other useful things such as different print applications for fabrics.
BOOKS ON FASHION DESIGN
These are books are guides on fashion design as discipline and have the actual designing as their focus.
Book #10 - The Fundamentals of Fashion Design
A nice overall view of fashion design as a discipline.
Book #11 - Fashion Design Course
A good introduction to fashion design as a discipline. Contains sections on different parts of the fashion design world.
Book #12 - Fashion Bags & Accessories
This book is a very good resource for all things bag and accessory design.
Book #13 - Digital Textile Design
This book is an advanced dive into digital textile design for programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop as well as a look at some fabric design applications. Contains many things you would not be able to find on YouTube.
BOOKS ON FASHION BUSINESS
Apparel business ownership is a sect of business with innumerable proclivities unique to itself. These books are excellent resources to navigating the business of fashion.
Book #14 - The Business of Fashion
This book is an extremely useful guide to the business of fashion that covers things such as manufacturing, navigating the sales season, and more.
Book #15 - Fashion Entrepreneur
This book a succinct and effective guide on how to start an apparel business. Though a little old, the fundamentals remain the same.
Book #16 - How to Set Up & Run a Fashion Label
Another very powerful resource for starting a fashion label.
Book #17 - Fashion for Profit
This is - in our opinion - one of the most in-depth fashion business books available on the market with immediately actionable advice.
BOOKS ON FASHION MANUFACTURING AND SOURCING
Many of the books above do contain information on manufacturing and sourcing for apparel production, but these books have a focus in those fields.
Book #18 - The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing
This book should be in every fashion designer's collection: it is an invaluable resource from an industry veteran. Every curtain hiding garment manufacturing is lifted with incredible detail.
Book #19 - Global Sourcing in the Textile and Apparel Industry
This book serves as an excellent introduction to sourcing in the fashion industry.
BOOKS ON FASHION MERCHANDISING
These books pertain to fashion merchandising and may prove insightful to fashion designers and entrepreneurs.
Book #20 - Fashion Merchandising
An excellent introduction to and reference for fashion merchandising.
BOOKS ON FASHION MARKETING
These books pertain to fashion marketing and help give insight into some of the unique characteristics of fashion marketing.
Book #21 - Marketing Fashion, Second Edition
This books is a helpful guide on marketing for fashion.
BOOKS ON PATTERNING
For those who do their own patterns - or wish to learn how to do so, these books may prove a valuable resource.
Book #22 - Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear
This book is an excellent guide for menswear patterning.
Book #23 - Metric Pattern Cutting for Womenswear
A resource for patterning for womenswear.
Book #24 - Patternmaking for Fashion Design
This book is a great resource for patternmaking. It may serve as an understandable introduction for those who are unfamiliar with patternmaking.
USEFUL BOOKS FOR BRANDING
Branding - how you do it and why it exists - is sometimes a difficult topic to relate in great detail. These books may or may not be directly about branding for apparel, but they may help you immensely as you build an apparel brand world.
Book #25 - Introducing Fashion Theory
While this book is rather brief and surface level, it serves as an excellent introduction to the metaphysics of fashion and other such considerations. Understanding the basics of fashion theory can help one greatly as the seek to create an effective brand.
Book #26 - The Luxury Strategy
Even if you are not seeking to build a "luxury" clothing brand, this book is an excellent resource to aid you in creating a strong brand with integrity that can last. If you sell or are wishing to sell clothes at a higher markup than the average retailer, or even just want to learn how to imbue brand story better into your products, this book is for you.
BOOKS ON FASHION HISTORY
To help determine the future of fashion, you must know its past. Here are some of our favorite books about fashion history - recent or otherwise. These may serve as a source for design references or self-education on fashion history. Please note, these books largely pertain to Western fashion history.
Book #27 - Fashion History From the 18th Century to the 20th Century
This behemoth of a book is an incredibly rich source of fashion design inspiration as the pictures used are incredibly detailed and one can see in great detail the fabrics, construction details, etc. This is one of our favorites.
Book #28 - Costume History
A charming reprint of a fashion book from the 19th century, this little book may serve as an inspiration for you as it contains countless displays of costume.
Book #29 - Black Ivy
An incredibly engaging look into Black fashion in the 1960s. Insightful example into the possibilities of clothing in giving a voice to those who may not have had one.
Book #30 - Take Ivy
An absolute essential for anyone who wants to learn about the history of American menswear.
Book #31 - The Age of Undress
A new look into women's fashion of the 1790s period and its connection to art and aesthetics.
Book #32 - Ametora
A fascinating look into American fashion in Japan.
Book #33 - Fashion: The Definitive Visual History
This book is a stunning and comprehensive guide to fashion - ancient to recent - history, the most superlative in terms of comprehensiveness.
Book #34 - Zeitgeist Becomes Form German Fashion Photography 1945 - 1995
A very specific moment in fashion history, but rare fashion and art books - or any such rare book - such as these can become unique reference points and provide great inspiration not many others may have.
BOOKS ON DESIGNERS / BRANDS
Learning more about a specific designer or brand can prove valuable for finding inspiration, feeling encouraged, or learning from their examples. Here are some of our favorite books about specific designers and brands.
Book #35 - Vivienne Westwood: Catwalk
An incredibly unique designer with an incredible brand language, this book of Westwoods' entire design career may help inspire you to create your own strong brand and design world.
Book #36 - Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech
This book is incredibly valuable as it shows a behind the scenes look at the creative processes of an extremely high-performing and memorable - albeit late - designer. It is an incredible source of inspiration for creation, as Virgil wanted.
Book #37 - This is not a T-shirt
Written by streetwear veteran Bobby Hundreds, this book is full of insight into what it is like to build a brand to the scale that he did.
Book #38 - Tom Ford
Bold, as Tom Ford is, this books recounts his fashion design work across the two-thousands. Again, it is an intimate look into a successful designer's design philosophy and strong idiosyncratic design language which can be extremely beneficial for designers or anyone building a brand, even if that successful designer does not appeal to them.
Book #39 - Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between
Another intimate look at a successful designer - in both Kawakubo's design philosophy as well as her actual work - which may prove useful as designers seek to create their own design philosophy and visual language.
BOOKS ON FASHION THEORY
For those who wish to gain an innate and deep understanding with of fashion works - or at least, the theory of it - and other deeper considerations, our books listed below may be engaging reads for you.
Book #39 - Tigersprung: Fashion in Modernity
This book is an captivating argument on the relation between modernity and fashion.
This has been our list of recommended books for fashion designers, brand owners, and apparel entrepreneurs. We hope you will find some of these to be useful resources as you continue on your fashion journey. As you gone on, you will build a unique library and catalog that is perfect for you. Happy designing.