Four Fashion Books Explore Kimono, Runways, and Black Hair Sculptures

A roundup of four fashion-focused books published in 2022 examines the intersection of fashion, art, and culture. 'Crowns. My Hair My Soul My Freedom' (Skira, 2022) by Sandro Miller, Angle Bassett, and Patricia Smith is a luxurious black volume celebrating sculptural hairstyles of African American women as symbols of emancipation, featuring Miller's wife and model Claude-Aline Nazaire. 'Versace. Sfilate' (L'Ippocampo, 2022) by Tim Blanks offers a comprehensive overview of Versace women's collections from 1978 to autumn/winter 2021-2022, with 1,100 images and a candid introduction addressing Donatella Versace's 2004 challenges. 'Non solo kimono' (Skira, 2022) by Laura Dimitrio traces Japanese aesthetic influence on Italian fashion, from the kimono's late 19th-century European success to contemporary subcultures like kawaii and cosplay. 'Estetica della moda' (Bruno Mondadori, 2018, reprinted) by Giovanni Matteucci, professor of Aesthetics at the University of Bologna, argues that fashion's inferiority complex toward art is a misunderstanding rooted in Kantian thought, claiming fashion practices now hold a primacy in contemporary artistic processes. The books range from coffee-table to academic formats.