What Fashion Executives Are Reading This Summer

Fashion moves fast. From technological upheavals to an increasingly frenetic global trend cycle, industry leaders are constantly tasked with predicting what comes next — which is no small feat in 2026. The month of August offers some respite, a chance to reflect and reset before September kicks things into gear once more. That might look like sitting back with a good book, but there is a lot to learn from these quieter moments, too, especially if your book of choice cuts to the heart of some of fashion’s most pressing issues.

The Vogue Business fashion executives’ reading list brings together books exploring algorithms, attention, taste, art, identity and ecological responsibility. These books span hard-hitting non-fiction, thoughtful memoirs and page-turning fashion biographies, taking a closer look at some of the forces shaping fashion and society today, from the way that algorithmic recommendations shape taste to earning attention in a fragmented media landscape.

This reading list gathers global leaders from across the fashion, luxury and retail industries to share the essential reads that have changed their outlook, informed their worldview and shaped their leadership.

Bosker quit her job as a tech editor to train as a sommelier. Cork Dork is the funny account of her year and a half spent among people who smell everything twice and eat parmesan blocks to prime their palates. Is refined taste real perception, or just elaborate theater? It got me thinking about how we define taste in fashion and how much of it can be trained.

As someone with an international heritage, Crying in H Mart resonated with me on a deeply personal level. Michelle Zauner beautifully captures what it means to navigate multiple cultures, hold onto family traditions, and stay connected to the people we love through food, language, and memory. While her story is rooted in the Korean American experience, the emotions at its heart — identity, belonging, grief, and love — are universal.

What moved me the most was the way she brings culture to life through everyday moments: the meals we share, the traditions we carry forward, and the relationships that shape us. It’s a powerful reminder that our individual stories are what make diversity meaningful and that taking the time to understand one another can bridge the gaps between us, creating greater empathy, connection, and appreciation for experiences different from our own.

Air, by Bertil Scali & Raphaël de Andréis

Air is a French dystopian novel set against ecological catastrophe. It follows the story of Peter, who is navigating the consequences of an eco-dictatorship, where society judges people according to their environmental responsibility and placing them on a “carbon list”. The theme I found most interesting is the trade-off between individual accountability for one’s carbon footprint versus economic and personal freedom. It reminds us to recognize what people have to give up for the good of the planet, while making the case for regulation that people can live with realistically.

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, by Shoshana Zuboff

When I picked this book up, what struck me wasn’t a warning about privacy so much as a framework for understanding power. Zuboff argues that our clicks, searches, scrolls and seemingly insignificant digital behaviors have become a commodity, feeding what she calls “behavioral futures markets”, where companies aren’t just predicting what we’ll do next, but actually shaping those decisions. Suddenly, “my phone is definitely listening to me” became eerily accurate. Product recommendations and new features looked less like neutral design and more like carefully engineered systems.

This book examines the very mechanics those of us working in fashion, beauty, and media rely on every day. It’s acknowledging that recommendation engines don’t just reflect taste, they help create it. Which left me asking: where does genuine cultural influence end and algorithmic influence begin?

We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America, by Norah O’Donnell

We the Women tells the stories of 35 women whose courage and leadership helped shape America, yet whose impact has been overlooked or left out of the historical record. It’s striking how many of these women I had never encountered, such as Mary Katharine Goddard, the only woman whose name appears on the Declaration of Independence.

By bringing overlooked voices forward, O’Donnell doesn’t just deepen our understanding of history. She asks us to consider whose stories get told, who gets remembered, and how that shapes what future generations believe is possible. It’s a perspective I carry with me in my own work — in an industry overwhelmingly shaped by women and at a company where a remarkable woman founder remains at the heart of our story.

The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes is an interesting take on the attention economy and how our focus has become one of the world’s most valuable and contested resources. It challenges us to think beyond simply capturing attention and instead consider what it means to truly earn it. Working in fashion, luxury and beauty, where brands compete in an increasingly fragmented media landscape, it’s a timely reminder that lasting influence isn’t built by being the loudest voice, but by creating relevance that’s actually earned. It’s shaped how I think about brand performance and the future of marketing.

For summer reading, I’d recommend The Beautiful Fall by Alicia Drake. It tells the parallel and intertwined stories of Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld, and how their vision, ambition, and determination shaped modern fashion. What stayed with me is the reminder that there is no single path to success in a creative industry. Their careers were driven by very different personalities and perspectives, yet both changed fashion forever. It’s an insightful, inspiring, immersive and utterly compelling read for anyone with a genuine interest in the industry.

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion, by Julie Satow

This book tells the story of the women behind iconic New York department stores Bonwit Teller, Lord & Taylor, and Henri Bendel from the 1930s to the 1960s. I am very interested in fashion and culture from the 1950s, as well as the evolution of shopping and retail. This reminded me that the idea of powerful women making an impact in the fashion world has been happening for a hundred years. We just don’t always hear of the less famous examples.

As its central premise, Art Cure contains a rather radical idea: that art deserves to be treated as an essential part of a person’s health regime. As someone who has worked in the art sector, I was greatly uplifted by the thought that spending an afternoon at Tate Modern is as good for me as a 5K run.

Art is not an indulgence, suggests Fancourt, but a necessity to achieve spiritual, mental and physical balance in one’s life. As a professor herself, she backs this up with compelling research from University College London. I have always shared her belief in the transformational power that art has in helping people heal emotionally and mentally, and how the creative process can reduce stress, express feelings and improve well-being. It’s not a book that will necessarily change your life, but her argument is persuasive, and it will certainly make you feel less guilty about missing that gym session in favor of immersing yourself in art.