cover image The Fashion Book: Advice, Activities & Top Tips to Create Your Own Collection

The Fashion Book: Advice, Activities & Top Tips to Create Your Own Collection

Marie Vendittelli, trans. from the French by Annie Barton, illus. by Sophie Griotto. Michael O’Mara/Buster (IPG/Trafalgar Sq., dist.), $15.99 paper (128p) ISBN 978-1-78055-113-5

With numerous ideas and tips for drawing, working with color and fabric, designing with the seasons in mind, and accessorizing, the French duo of Vendittelli and Griotto walk readers through the basics of becoming confident fashion designers. There are brief profiles of famed designers, including Coco Chanel, Yves St. Laurent, and Alexander McQueen, and two dozen pages at the back of the book serve as a “designer sketchbook,” with Griotto providing willowy models onto which readers can add their own clothing designs. Interactive prompts appear throughout, inviting readers to hone their drawing skills, educate themselves about the fashion industry, and “discover [their] own style.” Helpful advice (“Shop windows of big department stores are designed by professionals. Study them closely”) and Griotto’s loose, confident drafting should prove motivational. Ages 10–up. (Aug.)