Cover image of Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations by Elizabeth Walker.
Yves Saint Laurent once famously stated that Fashion fades but style is eternal.
The new must have book, Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations by Elizabeth Walker, clearly reiterates that style is far more than seasonal trends and fashion.
Walker’s book consists of over 400 images as accompanied with captions, that span across the scope of street style, the everyday, film sets etc.
This a spell binding and thought provoking book of contrasts. Think photographs from different fashion eras and decades side by side with those of notable figures, the exotic and unexpected.
Ever since I received Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations I have not been able to put it down. It is one part, style inspiration and one part, uncanny social documentation.
Elizabeth Walker’s inspiring background includes working at Harpers & Queen, the Times, Saturday Telegraph, Sunday Times. She also worked as Executive Fashion and Beauty Editor on Marie Claire.
She currently works as a freelance fashion consultant and writer.
I was honoured to meet and interview her about her new book.
Elizabeth Walker. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Walker.
1. It is an honour to interview you today. The book is wonderfully compelling. I think it is a bit like a fashion and social document as it were. What was your inspiration to compile it?
Well I hope so. What I really hope is that it is not just for fashion folks, which is what I said before. It is for people, anything and the pictures and through that came a bit of social documentation because when you see the change of the figure, which is fascinating. What people perceived in the twenties and thirties to be a fit body, we would not perceive that at all. Shape has just absolutely changed and also the clothes too, like women in swimming costumes, the advent of Lycra and all that sort of thing.
I think what we tried to do was do a real juxtaposition; I think most spreads work well in that way. We tried to mix men and women well together, not in all cases, but certainly from different countries and generations. We also tried; I think which I succeeded about eighty percent in showing pictures people have not seen before. It is quite funny though; there is a marvellous picture of either Portuguese or Spanish fisherman in a suit and to my horror in Selfridge’s book shop the other day and it has been used on the cover of a cook book. I had never seen it before. So in most cases there will pictures people have not seen, particularly the cover with Jackie O, and I have more books on her than you have had hot dinners.
So that is what we tried to do.
Also, we tried to keep it at a price, where you could give to a girlfriend as a present without actually breaking the bank.
Photo Credit – Getty Images
2. In the book you cover everything from exoticism to denim. How did you decide what sections to feature within the book?
Well at one stage, we were going to do two books in a box set, one on men and one on women but I didn’t really think that would be interesting enough or work as well. So I did not want to do things like, so yes we have the section called ‘Button Up’ which is largely suiting but I did not want to make it too fussy and scare the people who were not in fashion. I wanted to make it a bit more general than that and so that is how I came up with these sorts of sections and hopefully that works.
Photo Credit – Getty Images
3. How did you pick the images, I think you have such a wonderful eye?
Well, I started life as a graphic designer, so I have always loved pictures. I have also always had a personal passion for paintings and things too. So from my art director type head, I have always loved photographs and I mean I think we are just short of 500 images as there are 450 images in this book. If you imagine we probably printed out about twice that amount (I’m guessing) and we’d go through them going love it, love it… hate it, not sure. Then every time we looked at it we’d condense it.
Then I decided where I was going to put them and there was one section we called ‘All in one’. Which was quite contemporary as there are a lot of all in one jumpsuits on the catwalk anyway and at one stage, I didn’t think I had enough images because when you look closely at some of these images, they weren’t actually all in ones. There is one in there of Diana Ross in stripes and I am still not convinced that she is in an all in one. I think she has got on trousers and a top that may look like an all in one. It was such a great stripy picture that I thought, it could pass.
Photo Credit – Getty Images
4. What do you think makes a great image?
I think it is one that you really remember. For instance, that image of the New Look skirt that was photographed in the boulevard in Paris that is such a memorable image. There are ones in my mind stick out, probably for colour, Rod Stewart with a girlfriend. I cannot remember which girlfriend it was with in the most revolting yellow satin, he was in tartan. You won’t forget this when you see this as there was argyle, yellow and tartan.
In contrast to that you have got the, which is one of the first pictures is a Sheikh Army camp and it is in the Indian army. He is totally in national dress, the turban and khakis and you know everything else but he is in tartan and it is so bizarre. You think how come this Northern Indian is dressed up in head to toe tartan. It is just bizarre and I don’t think he was with the Scottish regiment or anything. It made no sense.
It is pictures you remember, be it that it is a marvellous image or just fascinating.
Photo Credit – Getty Images
5. My favourite image is the cover image of Jackie O. How did you decide to make that specific image the cover?
I was quite certain about it, various people suggested otherwise and I just said no. What I did not want to do was put a Jackie O image that everyone would know. On the back there is the contrast, you have a young boy from Darfur and in those days it was really quite unusual for them to wear American style clothes and again in my mind the contrast of those two cover images, sum up the contrast of what is inside. So we have an unknown but stylish young man, celeb, contrast. We have done (it is quite funny really) a Spanish edition and they wanted different covers and on the front and they would not be budged about this, they chose a picture of Marilyn Monroe. I had no objection to that but I found about six images of Marilyn Monroe that I had never seen before but off course they chose one that people will know.
Photo Credit – Getty Images
6. How are you hoping for the book to be received?
Well I hope that it is received well. I was very nervous because you have to get the quotes of certain people on the back and I was told I had to ask them as I know them but I was too embarrassed. I was so thrilled that the first person to reply, literally about half an hour, the post arrived was David Bailey who I used to work with in the early eighties.
Photo Credit – Getty Images
7. Are we to expect more books from you?
My publisher wants me to do another book. I don’t know about doing an actual second volume but it will probably be on some sort of style. Someone suggested one on accessories but because I now know the image library pretty well, I don’t think there is enough accessory images to merit a book so I am tossing ideas around.
Photo Credit – Getty Images
Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations by Liz Walker is published by Endeavour London, priced £20 and available from 14th September at all major bookshops.
Images are used with kind courtesy of Getty Images.
Kind thanks and regards to Elizabeth Walker for granting the interview.
