“I’m currently reading a book that i cant put down and I know you are going to love, its called Fashion Babylon. It exposes everything behind the scenes in the Fashion industry and gives out many secrets, like why is yellow trendy this year and next year its green? who decides that? and many more things”

Yara left me the above comment on my French Connection post for which I am eternally grateful. I LOVE THIS BOOK!

I bought Fashion Babylon, by Imogen Edwards-Jones & Anonymous, shortly after Yara recommended it to me and finding more positive reviews of it on Amazon. Once I opened the book, I couldn’t put it down!

The Prologue of the book reads:

“All of the following is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. All the anecdotes, the stories, the highs, the lows, the scams, the drugs, the deals, the rivalries and the insanity are as told to me by Anonymous - a wide and varied collection of people who all work at the heart of the fashion industry. The designer is fictionalized; however, the incidents are real, the celebrities play themselves, but the stories now all take place within six months of a designer’s year. Narrated by Anonymous, all the stories have been condensed into this time period. But everything else is as it should be. The rich buy the clothes, the poor make them, and everyone else thrives on the heady and rarefied atmosphere. It’s just another six months in the life of the fashion industry.“

With an intriguing start like that, how can you put the book down? I recognized a number of the stories alluded to in the novel and am curious about the ones I couldn’t figure out. Villa Moda and Sheikh Majed were mentioned on page 40 of this 330 page book. I’m thankful and proud that it was a positive mention. I do love to see Kuwait represented well in the media. Well done, Sheikh Majed!

This book taught me a lot about the fashion industry, designers, and media, despite it being a fictional book. Written in the first voice you followed the designer as she put together her new collection, worried about sales, dealt with models, and debated designing for a celebrity client.

Wondering why a bag that costs $40 to produce costs $4,000 in the stores? The author broke down how the fashion industry makes money by marking up products and why. She also discusses how much of a cut designers make depending on whether they run their own line or work for a major fashion house, what it takes to get a line manufactured, among many other illuminating tidbits. It also taught me about the creative and business side that designers have to think about, how one picture in the press can make or break a designer’s career, and the various perks that celebrities recieve and why. It’s a fascinating inside look in a designer’s life. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that designers work hard to get where they are and how tricky it is to stay at the top.

The reason that this book is an international bestseller is that it’s written excellently. It’s a highly entertaining read filled with useful information and it’s difficult for many writers to get the mix just right. This is not a The Devil Wears Prada book. It’s much, much better!

I’d recommend anyone who is interested in fashion to buy this book. As you read the book you’ll recognize familiar fashion houses, designers, brands, magazines and celebrities. On second thought, I’d even recommend it to people who aren’t interested in fashion just so they can learn what goes behind the scenes in the fashion industry and how much work it takes to produce a collection. Personally, I am going to get all of Imogen Edwards-Jones books now and see if they are as wonderful as Fashion Babylon.

You can purchase Fashion Babylon at Amazon by clicking on the image below.