Want more fashion week? These Black fashion books and docs will satisfy you year-round

As Fashion Week transitions from New York City to Europe, these releases allow fashion lovers to dig into the indelible Black influence on style.

Besides new fashion, one of the best things about Fashion Month is the stories and history that get unearthed and reappreciated. 

This year, there’s been so much chatter around fashion industry legends like Naomi Campbell, who kicked off New York Fashion Week with her collection with PrettyLittleThing and is the subject of the Apple TV docuseries “The Super Models;” the late Donyale Luna, the subject of the new Max documentary “Donyale Luna: Supermodel;” and Bethann Hardison, who has released a documentary of her own, “Invisible Beauty” about her life and legacy.

Bethann Hardison, Black fashion models, Black fashion icons, Black fashion, Black style, Invisible Beauty, Black fashion books, Black fashion documentaries, Naomi Campbell, Fashion Week, Fashion Month, theGrio.com
Bethann Hardison attends Kering’s 2nd Annual Caring For Women Dinner – Arrivals at The Pool on Sept. 12, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

When chatting with theGrio’s Maiysha’s Kai on theGrio’s “Writing Black” podcast, Hardison expressed her enthusiasm for viewers to see her story on the silver screen.  

“I never thought I had a story. I just didn’t even imagine,” she said. “We finished a film and when Frédéric, my co-director, Frédéric Tcheng, sent me the four hours of what he had gotten it down from seven hours that he loved. I mean, that’s when I became a believer.”

Hardison added, “I’m very, very happy and very excited about it. And I think it’s very, it’s a like a game changer within myself. It is like I, too, learned a lot about me watching the film.” 

There’s also been the resurfacing of nearly lost fashion history, like the life and career of Ann Lowe, a seamstress and designer who dressed countless notable American families throughout her lengthy career. Lowe was dubbed “society’s best kept secret” as she often received no direct credit for creations, including designing Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress for her marriage to John F. Kennedy. 

Renewed interest in Black history has led to renewed interest in Lowe. Her legacy is currently on display at the Winterthur Museum, Library, and Garden in Delaware in the exhibition, “Ann Lowe: American Couturier.” 

In addition to what’s mentioned above, there’s so much more Black fashion history content to consume. There are candid memoirs like “Walking with the Muses” by former model Pat Cleveland that pull the curtain back on what it was like as a Black model during the heyday of Ebony magazine’s Fashion Fair fashion show event in the late ’60s. There’s also the late André Leon Talley, who left the world with his memoir, “The Chiffon Trenches,” which chronicles his rise in the global fashion industry. 

For these titles and more, check out the gallery below! 

<br><strong>Ann Lowe: American Couturier</strong> <br><br>

By: Elizabeth Way (Author), Heather Hodge (Contributor), Laura Mina (Contributor), Margaret Powell (Contributor), Katya Roelse (Contributor)

(Cover image: Rizzoli Electa)

<strong>Black Designers in American Fashion</strong>

Edited by: Elizabeth Way

Cover image: Bloomsbury Visual Arts

<strong>Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History </strong>

Edited by: Vikki Tobak with Slick Rick, A$Ap Ferg, LL Cool J, Kevin Lee 

Cover image: Taschen America

The Chiffon Trenches

By: André Leon Talley

Cover image: Ballantine Books

<a href="https://www.amazon.com/New-Black-Vanguard-Photography-Between/dp/1597114685">The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion</a>

By: Antwaun Sargent with Addy Campbell, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Micaiah Carter, Awol Erizku, Nadine Ijewere, Quil Lemons, Namsa Leuba, Renell Medrano, Tyler Mitchell, Jamal Nxedlana, Daniel Obasi, Ruth Ossai, Adrienne Raquel, Dana Scruggs, Stephen Tayo, Shaniqwa Jarvis, Mickalene Thomas, Deborah Willis

Cover image: Aperture

Decades of Glamour: An Evolution of Beauty, Cosmetics, Fashion and Style

By Mariah C. Bond (Independently published)

A Visible Man

By: Edward Enninful

Cover image: Penguin Random House

Walking with the Muses

By: Pat Cleveland

(Cover image: Simon & Schuster)

The Art of Ruth E. Carter

By: Ruth E. Carter

Cover image: Chronicle Books

Black Ivy: A revolt in style

By: Jason Jules and Graham Marsh

Cover image: Reel Art Press

Dressed in Dreams

By: Tanisha C. Ford

Cover image: St. Martin’s Pressn

<br><strong>Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style </strong>

By: Shantrelle P. Lewis

Cover image: Aperture

<strong>Africa in Fashion: Luxury, Craft and Textile Heritage</strong>

By: Ken Kweku Nimo 

Cover image: Laurence King Publishing

Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion

By: Marcellas Reynolds

Cover image: Harry N. Abrams

Fashion Tribes: Global Street Style

By Daniele Tamagni with Els van der Plas, Asanda Sizani, Emmanuelle Courrèges, Antonio Eligio, Véronique Marchand, Peter Popham, Gerardo Mosquera, Katie Breen

Cover image: Abrams

Vintage Black Glamour (Two-Book Set)

by Nichelle Gainer (Rocket 88 Books; 2021)

Cover image: Rocket 88 Books


Ann Lowe: American Couturier

By: Elizabeth Way (Author), Heather Hodge (Contributor), Laura Mina (Contributor), Margaret Powell (Contributor), Katya Roelse (Contributor)

(Cover image: Rizzoli Electa)


Kay Wicker is a lifestyle writer for theGrio covering health, wellness, travel, beauty, fashion, and the myriad ways Black people live and enjoy their lives. She has previously created content for magazines, newspapers, and digital brands. 


TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrio’s Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to ‘Writing Black‘ with Maiysha Kai.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: