Written by Hana Hyman
Photo by Hana Hyman
Schiffer Fashion Press contacted District, interested in having two of their recent publications reviewed. The first is “Emerging Fashion Designers 3,” the review for which you can read here. The second is “The SFP LookBook” for spring 2014. Here’s how SFP describes it:
“Following on the acclaimed success of its inaugural SFP LookBook, Schiffer Fashion Press’s style guide extraordinaire kicks off its second season with Spring 2014 runway looks from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Ideal for identifying trends in color, fabric, embellishment, styling, and silhouette, here are images of more than 3,200 looks from more than 125 of today’s top designers, including Carolina Herrera, Mara Hoffman, Nicole Miller, Noon by Noor, Pamella Roland, Rebecca Minkoff, and more. This exhaustive compilation showcases high-end ready-to-wear, sportswear, menswear, swimwear, resort, and eveningwear presentations, but also offers comprehensive looks at styling trends for hair, beauty, and accessories. The SFP LookBook compiles everything that the Spring 2014 collections have to offer in one volume of high-quality images – it is a must have for designers, trend spotters, students, stylists, buyers, and fashion enthusiasts everywhere.”
How does the book stack up to these claims?
1. “Ideal for identifying trends in color, fabric, embellishment, styling, and silhouette…”
I agree with this. A person with trend analysis experience can look at a collection of images from a fashion show and spot connections and themes. The organization of this book is clean and intuitive, further simplifying its use as reference material. The layout achieves a great feat: it makes sifting through visual information easier than using an online source. Clicking an arrow repeatedly doesn’t compete with having a grid of the garments at your fingertips. There’s a problem with the “color” part to this statement, but we’ll get to that in the third point.
2. “…offers comprehensive looks at styling trends for hair, beauty, and accessories”
This claim is a lofty one. From reading it, you would think the book includes close-ups of hair and makeup looks, or bags and shoes. It does not. What this assertion really means is that the models wearing the garments also have their hair and makeup done and are further adorned with accessories. I would not call this “comprehensive.” Hair, beauty and accessories are all about the details. The reader doesn’t get to fully appreciate that with the images sized the way they are now. Instead, it yields a glimpse rather than a gape.
3. “…compiles everything that the Spring 2014 collections have to offer in one volume of high-quality images…”
Remember how I said there was an issue with color? That’s because these images are unfortunately not as high-quality as SFP makes them out to be. Just like with “Emerging Fashion Designers 3,” this volume has very obvious hitches with color grading throughout, and some images are incredibly dark. See pages 340-347 and 352-353 for just a few examples. While I of course would not recommend heavy editing, it’s important to remember that a camera does not pick up exactly what the human eye captures, and thus adjustments to bring the images to a more natural state are not just acceptable but necessary. Color is ever so important in fashion, as with any creative industry, and poor image quality degrades this crucial element.
Additionally, some images just don’t have the crispness of a high PPI as they should. Even the slightest bit of blur in a photo should deem it unfit to print. The two center images on pages 154-155 are examples of poor quality, while the two center images on pages 88-89 are examples of high quality.
4. “…it is a must have for designers, trend spotters, students, stylists, buyers, and fashion enthusiasts everywhere.”
This book is an excellent resource and provides an easy reference for fashion enthusiasts and professionals. But it would be enormously improved by at least living up to the promise of high-quality images. One should not have to squint through blur or darkness to see the details this book is designed to capture. If you’re considering adding this volume to your collection, just be aware of its strengths and weaknesses.