The United States of Fashion

Book excerpt: The editors of Vogue, the ultimate authority on fashion, document the post-COVID changes happening across the fashion landscape in America. Celebrating creators, artisans, and visionaries across the country, the book pays tribute to the democratization of American fashion and the creativity and artisanship that is no longer confined to the runways of New York and Los Angeles. In their February 2021 issue, Vogue launched “The United States of Fashion,” a project that shines a spotlight on the creativity and craft flourishing throughout the country. Exploring the innovation and entrepreneurialism that defines American fashion, Vogue goes coast to coast from Detroit to El Paso to Indianapolis to Nashville, where the most exciting new designers are creating and designing locally. This book features a wide array of fashion voices across the nation, who share self-generated images and narratives on how they define and identify with fashion now. New, never-before-seen photographs and anecdotes, not published in the pages of Vogue, come from fashion designers Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte, Jeremy Scott, and Libertine; photographers Alex Webb and June Canedo; and craftspeople Ariana Boussard-Reifel and Ataumbi Metals. The book contains texts by esteemed writers, from Louise Erdrich’s words on Native American fashion and music editor Suzy Exposito’s account of being goth in Miami, to new ways of creating sustainable, recycled fashion. These accounts create a living biography of the evolution and democratization of fashion today. A rich tapestry of style in America, The United States of Fashion will appeal to readers interested in fashion, design, culture, and photography.