GILES SØLVE KATIE BY GILES DEACON, SØLVE SUNDSBØ & KATIE GRAND

Amid the thousands of expensive fashion books, it is rare to find a read that feels entirely unique and is also filled with love and humour—but this book does both with aplomb. The title is a composite of its creators’ names: Giles is couturier Giles Deacon; Sølve is Sølve Sundsbø, a Norwegian photographer; and Katie Grand is the founding editor of Conde Nast magazine Love.

The three exceptional talents have worked together for many years and, in this volume, the clothes by Deacon, styling by Grand and photography by Sundsbø mingle to create something astounding. The pictures capture the fantastical side of Deacon’s aesthetic—clothes with masses of feathers, and jumpers that look like they were knitted on needles. The book doesn’t lack for celebrities either, with everyone from Linda Evangelista and Alek Wek to Edie Campbell and Yoko Ono wearing Deacon’s designs. The text is from all three—with Grand in particular telling stories about their design heyday. But in the end what really shines is the intimacy, humour and love of design that is so often missing from high-end fashion tomes. This book is as much about three friends having a great time together as it is about image-making. As a result, there is a lot of beauty and little ego on show.