First of all, I’d like to dedicate this blog post to my good friend and homey Gunifort Uwambaga. Although today is not a special day, he couldn’t let the opportunity pass him by to buy me one of the most inspiring books for any upcoming fashion designer. A big shout out to you my dear friend!!! This amazing book tells the story of a woman who has worked 15 years as a stylist for French Elle, been a consultant & muse to the likes of Tom Ford at Gucci & YSL for around 6 years, plus 10 years of which she was editor-in-chief for French Vogue, where she did some magnificent things! Since then she doves in a number of new projects, including a book called Irreverent. It contains her favourite images she’s been involved with. The Carine Roitfeld book, titled ‘Irreverent,’ was curated by Olivier Zahm (founder of the French fashion mag Purple) and follows the French muse and editrix through her fearless career spanning the early ’90s through collaborations with pictures and notes of Mario Testino, Tom Ford in his Gucci years and her stewardship of French Vogue. Karl Lagerfeld once said that if you close your eyes and imagine the ideal French woman, it would be Carine. This book is chic, chic, chic, with 250 magazine tear sheets and covers, plus personal ephemera. Definitely a force not to be reckoned with! Thanks again for a great book Gunifort Uwambaga!!!

The Fashion A to Z Dictionary brings all the key words commonly used in colleges and in industry together, this fashion reference book is beautifully illustrated with diagrams and drawings of fashion details and costumes that bring the subject to life. The book contains over 2,000 entries, arranged alphabetically. Illustrated by renowned fashion illustrator and designer Zakee Shariff, and written by Alex Newman. This is with out over exaggerating the best book for bloggers, design students, fashion addicts and other creatives if you want to learn more about the ins and outs of fashion. I guess I’m kind of lucky because I stumbled on this book by ‘accident’ while I was making rounds of key bookstores in the center of Milan. At the end of the day I returned to the Armani bookstore because the store looks absolutely stunning and there was a 50 percent discount – Yes, I am smiling. No, I’m not lying. I guess, timing and destiny is everything, right? If you’re a really curious mind, I bought the book for 7,50 Euros.

To help feed the obsession, I tend to blindly order men’s clothing related books when they come out. I’ve recently taken delivery of Josh Sims’ ‘Icons Of Mens Style’. I was surprised to learn that the ‘icons’ referred to in the book are not people (like Cary Grant on the cover) but the clothes themselves, a discussion of clothes seen as “capturing the spirit of the times”.
So…. it’s not just as any other book about clothes, the Icons of Men’s Style book by Josh Sims looks at every ‘classic’ item in a man’s wardrobe, as well as where that item came from.

Published by Laurence King, this 192-page book claims that the male wardrobe of today has evolved over the years, with key items all emanating from a single ‘definitive’ item. The t-shirt for example was originally made by Hanes for the US Navy, but has since been used in pretty much every walk of life. Icons of Men’s Style examines, garment by garment, the most important and famous of these products, their provenance and history, the stories of their design, the brand/company that started it all and how the item shaped the way we dress today. So much to discover about your wardrobe – you’ll never look at boxers in the same way again.

I bought the ”Icons of Men’s Style” book for only 30 Euros at bookstore MENDO. Get it to remember, get it to inspire, get it to rip-off, whatever, just get it!!!

My good friend Gunifort who works at bookstore MENDO in Amsterdam, is the man who hooks me up with the most amazing books I have ever read. I love everything about books and magazines, the way they smell, the way the paper feels, the feeling you get when your reading a good book all of it’s just why I love to visit my good friend Gunifort while he is making mucho deniro. Last week I visited the bookstore and Gunifort just couldn’t stop talking about Albert Watson. Sometimes I’m amazed at the things he comes up with and the passionate words and ways he chooses to explain why I should read this book. Oh well…here it goes.

Born in 1942 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Albert Watson has made his mark over the last four decades as one of world’s most successful fashion and commercial photographers, while creating his own art along the way. As well as being exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, his photographs have appeared on more than 250 covers of Vogue and has been featured in numerous other publications, including Rolling Stone, Time and Vibe. Watson’s latest book is titled UFO (Unified Fashion Objectives), and it’s a 40-year retrospective of his fashion photographs—many of them iconic and some of them never seen before by the public. While Watson says the book is not laid out chronologically, he did include some of his older work in the beginning pages to show the progression of his style and his career.

I bought Albert Watson’s ”UFO” book for 90 Euros at bookstore MENDO. It is an amazing read!

I’m a longtime fan of Glenn O’Brien — his monthly “Style Guy” columns in GQ are an absolute must-read. O’Brien recently written How to Be A Man, his tome related to all things stylish for aspirational men around the world. It’s full of useful tips such as how to drink, how to dress, and how to organize your social calendar. I’m sure not everyone likes being told what style is, but he does give useful tips, and his writing contains enough humor to balance what some might see as snobbery. This book will have transsexuals regret surgery from the first moment they turn the first page. A must read for every man aspiring to be the perfect gentleman.

Rin Tanaka, a Japanese editorial photographer, was born in Yamaguchi, Japan in 1970 and grew up in his family’s hometown of Yokohama after moving there with his family in 1976. He started hitting U.S. roads in 1990 during his college days. He moved to San Clemente, California in 1998. Over the years Tanaka tracked down and photographed authentic clothing from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Mostly from the collection of hardcore collectors. One can go into this fanatical world and see incredible amount of clothing that tells that era’s obsessions and of course the craftsman’s skill in making these clothes. Through photography he documents how Americans do Americana. My Freedamn! 8 is another fantastic volume that colorfully depicts 1960s Pop Fashion with clothing from surf, motorcycle, car, and other cultures. All these images are from the new My Freedamn vol.8 and presents a unique selection of 600 vintage cloths classified in 4 chapters.

I bought ”My Freedamn vol.8” book for only 89 Euros at bookstore MENDO. Get it to remember, get it to inspire, get it to rip-off, whatever, just get it!!!

The work of London-based artist Ryan Gander is multi-faceted, ranging through installation, sculpture, intervention, writing and performative lecturing. Much of his work is concerned with tweaking common objects, situations or systems, and planting his own often inexplicable narratives within them. Commissioned as part of his installation ‘An Incomplete History of Ideas’ Ryan published a limited edition book in a faux-simplistic style taking the form of a children’s book, The Boy Who Always Looked Up. The book describes the events leading up to the death of the modernist architect Erno Goldfinger as seen through the eyes of a boy who lives in the shadow of Goldfingers Trellick Tower (1973), in Notting Hill, London. I wish I could get my hands on one of the original limited books instead of reading the online version!!!

The fashion photographer Mark Borthwick has a new book, aptly titled “Not in Fashion.”  Mark is an amazing experimental fashion photographer but his creative doesn’t stop there. He often accompanies his photographic work with writing, drawings and even live performances. Mark gain recognition in the world of fashion by working in the 90’s with Purple magazine and he got to register many of the up and coming designers that nowadays are part of that decade heritage such as Martin Margiela, Helmut Lang, Maria Cornejo and Calvin Klein. Mark’s subjects are personal, his compositions striking. Some are bathed in sunlight — the result of intentionally overexposed film – and some capture blush-inducing intimate moments. Littering his photography with pages of original poems and collages, Borthwick draws us into his confusing world. The result feels more like an artist’s journal than a retrospective tome, and it’s all the more fitting for it. This Must-Have book showcases over 200 images from Borthwick’s best works. The vivid and over-saturated exposures are beautiful to look at, and create a cohesive element to this extensive and impressive body of work.

I bought Mark Borthwick, ”Not in Fashion” book for only 50 Euros at bookstore MENDO. Go get your copy today and Enjoy!!!

“She isn’t like anyone else, every time you photograph Kate, you feel you are seeing a girl in real life, not a model” he says…. Mario Testino, easily the best fashion photographer of his generation has released a book dedicated to his favourite muse Kate Moss. Testino has shot Kate countless times for covers, editorials, catalogues and portraits. As such it would come as no surprise that the famed photographer would have accumulated a huge library of photos of Kate over the years, ranging from the very start when he captured shots of her backstage at runways, all the way through to her career as the legendary print model she has become. All of this sparked the idea to collaborate on this amazing book. So.. that makes it not so hard to believe that this book features 128-pages of photos of the supermodel taken by the acclaimed photographer throughout their long-term work together. Even though Kate Moss is 37 years old, I would still settle for an evening with her at my favourite Surinam restaurant any day, LOL.

After the sold out limited edition, this book is now available in an unlimited trade edition at the price of 50 Euro at bookstore MENDO. It’s astounding value when you consider that the original hardcover edition, in an acrylic box, retailed at 350 Euros ( now easily worth 1250 Euros) and was a strict limited edition of 1,500, numbered and signed by the artist.

If you look on my book shelf you will find several publications from fashion writer Hywel Davies. He is the author of several useful books such as ‘Modern Menswear’, ‘100 New Fashion Designers’ and ‘British Fashion Designers’, all published by Laurence King. Hywel Davies’ latest book ‘Fashion Designers Sketchbooks’ is a must for any budding designer or fashion enthusiast alike, exploring many major names working in the industry today like John Galliano, Antonio Marras, Aitor Throup, Dries van Nooten and many many more.

I bought this book because I want to be a good fashion designer one day, this is just a small investment. You can learn a lot of things from reading this book, I’ve even learned how to draw fashion sketches. Who would have ever guessed that’s possible!!! I also really love the way Davies explores the individual design process of different designers, from what inspires, to construction ideas and methods, to the final product. The images practically jump off the page, and will have you running your hands across nearly every page, I LIKE YOU.

I bought the ‘Fashion Designers Sketchbooks’ for only 40 Euros at bookstore MENDO.

In the new book Eat Out!, followers of contemporary restaurant design will find a tasty bite. Publishing and design firm Gestalten, which specializes in volumes about visual culture, has compiled a wide-reaching overview of current trends in restaurant design ranging from the minimal to the baroque, and the traditional to the bleeding-edge. It delves into many of the most grand, creative, and minimalist restaurant interiors from around the world— and illustrates that theatrical dining has become a global phenomenon. It is not enough to merely engage the taste buds. In the selection you will find not only expensive popular restaurants like the Art Home in Paris but also fairly inexpensive lunchrooms like the Lloyd Bar in the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam.

Would you like to know how people are eating ice cream in New York or eat frozen yogurt in Jakarta, this book is a must – filled with inspiration and escapism on every page. I bought the Eat Out! book for only 30 Euros at bookstore MENDO.

While researching a documentary project in 2006 at Le Musée de la Préfecture de Police in Paris, Raynal Pellicer, a director best known perhaps for his series of 100 short films of people reacting to various art works, came across the anthropometric photo of Amélie Élie, a French prostitute known as “The Golden Helmet. This triggered Pellicer’s interest in legal photography, in particular the work of Alphonse Bertillon, and his decision to put together the Mug Shots book.

In 1882, Alphonse Bertillon created a scientific system for the identification of criminals and developed the anthropometric photo, showing the accused’s measurements and physical markings. Today, the mug shot is an essential police procedure worldwide. From Dreyfus to O.J. Simpson, this international selection includes notables like Lenin, Al Capone, Frank Sinatra, Martin Luther King and much more.

I think the celebrities would be particularly intriguing as this is one image they are unable to control. Each image is accompanied by an account of the subjects arrest and the trials that followed. I had a blast watching all these revealing Mug Shots, definitely a must read!!!

KAWS is the nickname of Brooklyn-based artist and former graffiti artist Brian Donnelly. KAWS studied at The School of Visual Arts in New York City, and still lives in Brooklyn. He has created graffiti writings on walls, street art, graphic, industrial and product design including limited toy editions and streetwear fashion, sketches, drawings, paintings, murals and last but not least sculptures. KAWS is well known for pushing the boundaries between street and high art, and more often than not, blurring the boundary between both.

The book KAWS, named after the artist of course is a new title that you should definitely get in your hands. This book features the span of work by NYC based KAWS. KAWS’ work has been featured in numerous publications, as well as exhibited at Colette, Paris, PARCO Gallery, Tokyo, MU Art Foundation, the Netherlands, as well as at BAPE Gallery, Tokyo. His recent work has been influenced by iconic characters from modern pop culture, such as Mickey Mouse, ‘The Michelin Man’, and The Simpsons. KAWS’ work treads the fine line between art, commerce, cartoons, and commercials. It is a disruption of, as well as a tribute to, all objects produced, bought, sold, exchanged, desired, and cherished. The KAWS book is published by The Aldrich and Skira Rizzoli and features a retrospective look into the artist’s successful work, definitely a must read!!!

Please do not panic and make others panic as well about all the blank pages that appear in the KAWS book. The gentleman failed to get approval of the rest of his earlier artwork, LOL. No…, I think it’s cool and in some kinda way this is actually catchy.

This is a great month, the KAWS book we have all been waiting for is now available for only 50 Euros at bookstore MENDO.

My good friend Gunifort who works at bookstore MENDO in Amsterdam, is the man who hooks me up with the most amazing books I have ever read. I love books and MENDO has such an amazing atmosphere.

Last week I visited the bookstore and I bought this ‘winking’ cover book for only 30 Euros. One eye open. One eye hidden. Wink! The blink of a shutter. The right eye is the right eye. Terry Jones, founder and creative director of i-D, the cutting-edge UK style magazine launched in 1980, spends an unusual amount of time thinking about how to make people famous, mainly beautiful young women, LOL. The first issue of I-D Magazine in 1980 consisted of 40 pages, clamped together with three staples and cost 50p. Only 50 issues were sold. “The idea was to break down the pigeon-holing of identity and fashion; to go beyond the façade of fashion so you could play it as a game. So you could have more fun with the codes of fashion.” Terry Jones. After 30 years of innovation and experimentation in the field of magazine journalism, i-D magazine has seen its trademark ‘winking’ covers used successfully all over the world. Throughout the years, the British magazine has been dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture, and now the memorable covers of this seminal magazine are all gathered in ‘i-D Covers – 1980-2010′ and published by Taschen. This book is a celebration of 30 hard working years at the forefront of international fashion and lifestyle publishing, and not only features all of the iconic covers to date – but also the best stories behind the making of the images. So, to all you hipsters out there who love to make street style pictures. This is the place where street style photography started.

From i-D’s humble beginnings as a stapled fanzine to the iconic Nick Knight 30th anniversary portraits of Lady Gaga, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell that grace i-D today, the book reprints each and every cover in this 320 paged collectable. It is an amazing read!

After my last post about Pharrell’s art-filled penthouse apartment in Miami, I wanted to know more about (street style) photographer slash artist slash blogger slash writer Todd Selby.
Todd Selby’s is not your average blogger, Todd also earns a lot of money ‘katsjing’ ‘katsjing’ ‘katsjing’ with his photographs that can be regularly seen in the British Vogue, Vogue Hommes International, Dazed and Confused, Another Magazine, Nylon, New York Magazine and last but not least the London Sunday Times. But, hey…I bet most of you already know everything about the fabulous Selby. Such an inspiration!!! If this is new to you, here’s the short story: The Selby features photographs, paintings and videos by Todd Selby of interesting authors, musicians, artists and designers in their home environments/creative spaces and posts them on his amazing blog. Todd goes into these peoples home and captures them in their natural habitat. Think you’ve seen all the MTV Cribs bling bling?
Think again, as you are visiting the inside of houses, apartments, villas, beach houses and lofts in Paris, New York, Tokyo, London and Sydney. Just look at all these images and make yourself at home.

My good friend Gunifort who works at bookstore MENDO in Amsterdam, tipped me off about “The Selby Is In Your Place“ book. He knew I would be interested in this story, but then again, who isn’t. As soon as I stepped in to the bookstore, I got inspired with every page and I just couldn’t put it down. I knew I had to buy this book. Ah, well, it only cost me 30 Euros.

I think that the funniest thing about these kinds of books will always be that mostly hip/creative people buy these kinds of books- of hip/creative people’s homes, to put it in their homes to make them look more hip/creative, LOL. ONLY YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE, definitely one of the best books I have bought in a while.

I know you all are gonna jump on that Illuminati stuff because you have no idea what this is all about, but it’s actually quite an impressing book. You really get absorbed with the book. Now… that doesn’t surprise me, it surely is a good book because it’s a 336 page book that is part memoir, part analysis of Jay-Z his lyrics. But the most interesting part of this book is that Jay-Z not only analysis his lyrics but also tells about their true meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history of the most provocative and successful artists of our time. Jay-Z’s tale jumps back and forth between snapshots of his days hustling crack in his New York hood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, his first recording experiments, his success in the fashion and becoming the successful businessman he is today. But then I have to quote one of his famous lyrics: I’m not a Businessman, I’m a Business, MAN!

Will this book get the honor of being the first Jay-Z book selected by Oprah for her book club, lets see, LOL. It can be hard to find this book in the shops but here is a link where you might succeed.