by the world’s most popular Black designers, our style is constantly evolving and being pushed to new levels. Whether you’re a fashion enthusiast or just getting started in your love for fashion, these 15 books are a great way to learn about Black style throughout the years.
1. Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem by Daniel R. Day
This New York Times Bestseller tells the story of one of the most iconic fashion figures of our time, Dapper Dan. He was known for his luxury custom designs that blended high fashion with streetwear long before it was popularized. His clients included everyone from athletes to rappers to drug dealers and he dressed them all in his unapologetically bold style. This book gives great insight not only into Dapper Dan’s life and work but also into the history of Black fashion and how it has been shaped by popular culture.
2. The Birth of Cool: Style Narratives of the African Diaspora by Carol Tulloch
Carol is one of the most respected names in the writing about black fashion and politics. In this memoir, she chronicles the fact that black style has a clear and profound influence on the history of dress in the last century, with black culture and fashion having long been defined as ‘cool’. The Birth of Cool asserts that ‘cool’ is seen as an arbiter of presence, and relates how both iconic and ‘ordinary’ black individuals and groups have marked out their lives through the styling of their bodies.
3. Black Skin: The definitive skincare guide Hardcover by Dija Ayodele
The author takes you through the lifetime of skin, sharing transformative essentials from how to work out your skin type to the dos and don’ts for your everyday routine. She explains the best ingredients for your skin and your budget, and the issues that Black women face: hyperpigmentation, general skin discolouration and increased dryness.
4. The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia
Nina Garcia is one of the most well-known names in the fashion industry thanks to her work as a judge on Project Runway and her role as Fashion Director at Marie Claire magazine. In this book, she shares her expert tips on everything from what to wear for your body type to how to build a timeless wardrobe that will last you for years to come. If you’re looking for advice on how to dress with confidence and style, this is the book for you.
5 The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion by Antwaun Sargent
The author addresses a transformation taking place in fashion, featuring the Black on the runway has been one marker of increasingly inclusive fashion and art communities. However, the contemporary visual vocabulary around beauty and the body has been reinfused with new vitality and substance thanks to an increase in powerful images authored by an international community of Black photographers.