Simon Doonan, writer of bon mots and wearer of colorful prints, has written yet another delicious book. The Creative Ambassador-at-Large of Barneys follows Gay Men Don’t Get Fat with Asylum, a chatty reflection on the fashion world’s most insane characters and customs. Though Doonan’s ode to fashion is full of over-the-top industry anecdotes, it’s also an enjoyable […]
Doonan has witnessed models unable to work for fear of ghosts, gone deep-sea fishing with a couturier pal and his jailbird companion, and watched Anna Wintour remain perfectly calm while the ceiling fell—literally—in the middle of Fashion Week. Once you start looking, he says, you’ll notice telltale signs of lunacy everywhere. Style insiders see patterns and trends in everything; they suffer from outsize personality disorders and delusions of grandeur; and of course, they have a predilection for theatrical makeup and artfully destroyed clothing. No one is more suited to the asylum than the truly die-hard fashionista—after all, eccentricity and extremism are the foundations of great style.
With his gimlet eye for the absurd and a love for eccentricity, Doonan’s personal and professional stories never fail to entertain. “The David Sedaris of the style universe” (The Boston Globe) gives us the scoop on the kooky, cutthroat—but always fabulous—fashion world, and proves himself one of the sharpest humorists writing today.
Doonan has witnessed models unable to work for fear of ghosts, gone deep-sea fishing with a couturier pal and his jailbird companion, and watched Anna Wintour remain perfectly calm while the ceiling fell—literally—in the middle of Fashion Week. Once you start looking, he says, you’ll notice telltale signs of lunacy everywhere. Style insiders see patterns and trends in everything; they suffer from outsize personality disorders and delusions of grandeur; and of course, they have a predilection for theatrical makeup and artfully destroyed clothing. No one is more suited to the asylum than the truly die-hard fashionista—after all, eccentricity and extremism are the foundations of great style.
With his gimlet eye for the absurd and a love for eccentricity, Doonan’s personal and professional stories never fail to entertain. “The David Sedaris of the style universe” (The Boston Globe) gives us the scoop on the kooky, cutthroat—but always fabulous—fashion world, and proves himself one of the sharpest humorists writing today.

The Asylum: A collage of couture reminiscences...and hysteria
288
The Asylum: A collage of couture reminiscences...and hysteria
288Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780399161896 |
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Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
Publication date: | 09/03/2013 |
Pages: | 288 |
Product dimensions: | 5.94(w) x 8.53(h) x 0.97(d) |
Age Range: | 18 Years |