1
of
1
Bending the Rules
Fashion Beyond the Binary
Brief Description
Bending the Rules is a fascinating, provocative, and highly entertaining visual exploration of identity and gender through fashion. Celebrated costume designer Camille Benda seamlessly weaves together the cutting-edge and the historical—spanning high fashion, dress in film, trendsetting brands, art history, and more—showing that gender and fashion...
Read More
Format: Hardback
$6999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 1 week
Found a better price? Request a price match
Bending the Rules
$6999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Bending the Rules is a fascinating, provocative, and highly entertaining visual exploration of identity and gender through fashion.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Bending the Rules is a fascinating, provocative, and highly entertaining visual exploration of identity and gender through fashion.
Celebrated costume designer Camille Benda seamlessly weaves together the cutting-edge and the historical—spanning high fashion, dress in film, trendsetting brands, art history, and more—showing that gender and fashion have always been intertwined. Brought to life with a dazzling array of more than 160 images, Bending the Rules combines short essays and interviews with creative professionals to offer snapshots of fashion and gender expression across cultures, places, and time.
This unique portrait of fashion and identity explores how clothing can be serious and playful, limiting or liberating, express joy or longing, fear or fun, and much more. Readers will find captivating examples as wide-ranging as gender-confirming underwear line Urbody to Buddhist monastic life, Brad Pitt's red-carpet skirt to gay cowboys and codpieces, Playboy and bustiers to Native American Two-Spirit beings. For anyone fascinated by fashion or the sociology of clothing, identity, and gender, this book offers a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.
Visually Rich: More than 160 visuals include illustrations by Gwyn Conaway, a costume designer, fashion historian, and culture specialist, as well as archival and contemporary photography, self-portraits, magazine covers, embroidery, and more.
An Accessible Entry Point to the World of Fashion: Through illustrated timelines, custom graphics, and content crafted with a sense of humour, playfulness, and curiosity, this artful social science book is accessible for newcomers and experienced fashion enthusiasts, from tweens exploring their own newly forming identity to cool aunts and switched-on grandparents.
A Global Approach: From an 18th-century French chevalier to Japanese kimonos, medieval alchemical manuscripts to 15th-century Flemish paintings, African Ndebele aprons to Scottish tartans, this deeply researched exploration spans time, cultures, and geography.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781797227610
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 05 March 2026
Country: United States
Imprint: Chronicle Books
Contributors:
- Foreword by Shannon Dea
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 178.0mm
Height: 241.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 224
About the Author
Camille Benda is an LA-based costume designer and Head of Costume Design at California Institute of the Arts, School of Theater. Benda designs costumes for film, theater, and commercials across the US and Europe and regularly speaks on dress history topic
More from Arts & Culture
View all-
Dylan's PickBold Types
A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...Hardback$5999Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseDisney Moana: The Official Cookbook
Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...Hardback$4499Elsewhere:$5299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
This Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$7299Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
They Bloom Because of You
Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. ‘A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank ‘A book to keep close and...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Leaves of Grass
A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...Hardback$2200Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Beautiful Chaos
The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
To the Women - The New Collection of Wise Words Every Woman Needs
THE COMPLETELY UPDATED COLLECTION WITH OVER 70 BRAND NEW POEMS, FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WILD HOPE AND WORDS TO LIVE BY 'Amazing . . . Donna's words speak to my heart' Davina McCall To the Women is a celebration of the beauty, strength, and joy of being a woman. A love letter to our deep capacity...Hardback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Odyssey
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3599Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips late August -
Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour
The creative journey continues with Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour by Keri Smith, the latest and most vibrant edition of the groundbreaking series that redefined journaling. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this edition brings the playful destructiveness of the original to life in dazzling full colour, adding a dynamic new dimension to the beloved prompts. Whether you're a seasoned Wreck-er,...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Did I Ever Tell You This?
In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...Paperback$3799Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips 1 Week -
A Thousand Feasts
THE INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From award-winning writer Nigel Slater, comes a new and exquisitely written collection of notes, memoir, stories and small moments of joy. 'Nigel Slater’s prose is the rarest delicacy of all: exquisite yet effortless, filled with heart, tenderness, yearning and humour' ELIZABETH DAY For years, Nigel Slater has kept notebooks of curiosities and wonderings, penned...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
