Fashion is a powerful thing. It can be used for self-expression, to make a political statement, or simply to attract attention. Through this stunning collection, discover how these 50 trendsetters - from Twiggy to Wallis Simpson, Tilda Swinton to Michelle Obama - have used fashion to assert their position in the world and become iconic. With stunning photography selected by the Design Museum, in conjunction with Lauren Cochrane, Assistant Fashion Editor at the Guardian, Fifty Women's Fashion Icons is the perfect gift for design lovers and fashion followers of all ages.

Behind nearly every item in the feminine wardrobe there is a first of its kind that has spawned countless others. While the definitive example—often created by a single—has achieved icon status, its various reinterpretations, season after season, have become fashion staples. Take Coco Chanel's short, simple black dress first published in American Vogue in 1926, for instance. Vogue predicted that the LBD would become 'a sort of uniform for all women of taste' and, indeed, it proved to be one of Chanel's greatest contributions to fashion. Icons of Women's Fashion examines, item by item, the most influential and legendary garments and accessories – their provenance and history, the stories of their design, the celebrities who made them famous, and the various ways they have shaped how women dress today.

In 1911 the French publisher Lucien Vogel challenged Edward Steichen to create the first artistic, rather than merely documentary, fashion photographs, a moment that is now considered to be a turning point in the history of fashion photography. As fashion changed over the next century, so did the photography of fashion. Steichen’s modernist approach was forthright and visually arresting. In the 1930s the photographer Martin Munkácsi pioneered a gritty, photojournalistic style. In the 1960s Richard Avedon encouraged his models to express their personalities by smiling and laughing, which had often been discouraged previously. Helmut Newton brought an explosion of sexuality into fashion images and turned the tables on traditional gender stereotypes in the 1970s, and in the 1980s Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts made male sexuality an important part of fashion photography. Today, following the integration of digital technology, teams like Inez & Vinoodh and Mert & Marcus are reshaping our notion of what is acceptable—not just aesthetically but also technically and conceptually—in a fashion photograph. This lavishly illustrated survey of one hundred years of fashion photography updates and reevaluates this history in five chronological chapters by experts in photography and fashion history. It includes more than three hundred photographs by the genre’s most famous practitioners as well as important but lesser-known figures, alongside a selection of costumes, fashion illustrations, magazine covers, and advertisements.

Behind nearly every item in the modern male wardrobe is a "first of its kind"the definitive item, often designed for specialist use, on which all subsequent versions have been based. Icons of Men's Style examines, garment by garment, the most important and famous of these productstheir provenance and history, the stories of their design, the brand/company that started it all, and how the item shaped the way men dress today.

"Throughout history, daring women have wielded power and brought about change through their bold fashion choices. Fashion Rebels is a collection of lively, illustrated biographies of twenty-five of these influential fashion icones from the distant past to today. Discover how these rebels' fashion choices both mirrored and redefined what it meant to be a woman in their era. From Cleopatra and Coco Chanel, whose forward fashions freed later generations from conformity, to Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga, who each bravely step out every day to rock their own unique personal styles. These fashionistas didn't follow trends or cultural conventions: they set new courses with their own styles. And if fashion police came knocking, they simply didn't open the door, "--Back cover.

From Louis XIV, a shoe aficionado of the Baroque Age, to the latest club-hopping progeny of the British royalty, this colourful survey of aristocratic fashion through the ages will delight royal watchers of every generation. The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton helped reclaim the fashion credibility of Britain's royal family, ushering in a generation of hip but genial personalities that appeal to every age and station. But royals have been setting fashion trends for centuries. This fascinating overview of aristocratic icons reaches back to the middle age, and from Europe to the Middle East, to profile the most renowned promoters of elegance and style ever to don their empires' crowns. Author and royals watcher Luise Wackerl juxtaposes the fifteenth century Duke of Burgundy' s penchant for black with Elizabeth I's taste for virginal white. She presents history's first "It Girls": Marie Antoinette, Louisa of Prussia, Empresses Sisi of Austria and Eugenie of France. She relates how Queen Victoria's sorrow and propriety transformed her country, and how an impeccably styled American's love for Edward VIII upended the British monarchy. From the irreproachably elegant styles of Grace Kelly to Lady Diana, Jordan's Queen Rania to Princess Letizia of Spain we move on to the newest icons, the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, whose faces and party antics grace the tabloids on a weekly basis. Hundreds of photos and a lively text make this irresistible reading for anyone interested in fashion, royalty, and the lively intersection of both worlds. AUTHOR: Luise Wackerl is a fashion journalist who writes about royal fashion and gossip on the Bunte magazine website. She has covered the most recent royal weddings in Stockholm, London, and Monaco. She lives near Munich, Germany. ILLUSTRATIONS: 130 in colour & 20 b/w

Evaluates the First Lady's emergence as a style icon and her growing influence on a changing American understanding of etiquette and femininity, in an illustrated account that also tours the cultural contributions of previous First Ladies. 60,000 first printing.