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Narrative Thread

Conversations on Fashion Collections
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Narrative Thread by Mark C. O'Flaherty explores the intimate connections individuals form with clothing, revealing how fashion shapes identity and memory. Through in-depth conversations and exclusive photoshoots across New York, London, and Milan, the book profiles fourteen unique figures in the fashion world, including designers, collectors, and tastemakers. Featuring insights from figures like Charlie Casely-Hayford and Sandy Powell, it delves into how clothing serves as a vessel for personal narrative and reflects broader cultural shifts. The foreword by Amanda Harlech and introductory essays by scholars Valerie Steele, Andre Walker, and Claire Wilcox deepen the exploration of fashion’s evolving role in our lives.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$6099
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in fashion, culture, and art, particularly those fascinated by personal storytelling through clothing and the history of style. Fashion professionals, students, and collectors will find this book a compelling resource, as will anyone who appreciates thoughtful photography combined with insightful commentary on the emotional and cultural significance of garments.

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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

“I adored this book and can’t recommend it highly enough” – Cathy Horyn
“Beautifully executed” – Norma Kamali
“A visual feast” – Giles Deacon
“Entertaining, thought-provoking, and serious. Read it and learn.” – Colin McDowell

"Clothes from our past shape who we are, and who we will be. Why do we hold on to certain garments and what do they tell us and others about our lives?"

Mark C. O’Flaherty asks 14 individuals who work with or use clothes in a unique way: how has fashion created something significant in your life? Through fascinating conversations, and photoshoots of their private collections, in New York, London and Milan, he constructs a portrait of each person through their intimate relationships with fashion, featuring The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas, Charlie Casely-Hayford, John Matheson (McQueen Vault), Sandy Powell, Stephen Jones, Carla Sozzani, Winn Austin, Carmen Haid, Susanne Bartsch, Karlo Steel, Karim Rashid, Steven Philip, and Desmond is Amazing.

How have these people used fashion as a vessel for memory or identity to develop their own narratives, and what does our relationship with clothing say about its changing nature as a commodity? With a foreword by influential fashion tastemaker Amanda Harlech, and opening conversations with three of fashion’s most respected scholars, Valerie Steele, Andre Walker and Claire Wilcox, Narrative Thread is an eye-opening resource for our understanding of fashion’s past and present – and its continuing importance in our lives.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise the book for its beautiful execution and rare combination of photography and writing talent. Esteemed voices such as Cathy Horyn describe it as a highly recommended, original account of fashion creators and collectors, while Giles Deacon calls it a "visual feast" rich in psychological insight. Colin McDowell highlights its entertaining yet serious examination of fashion’s strength and creativity. Overall, the reviews celebrate Narrative Thread as an eye-opening, important work for anyone interested in fashion’s narrative impact.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350287662

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 19 October 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Visual Arts

Illustration: 178 colour illus

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 188.0mm

Height: 246.0mm

Weight: 900g

Pages: 306

About the Author

Mark C. O’Flaherty has been a design journalist and photographer based between London and New York for over 20 years. Before that he was a DJ, music photographer, visual installation artist in nightclubs and show producer at London Fashion Week. He is a regular contributor to the Financial Times, HTSI, New York Times and Sunday Times, and has shot for Issey Miyake, Hermès, Knoll, Nobu and numerous international editions of AD and Elle Décor, and World of Interiors.

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