Fashion Kate Moss was only 14 when she first strutted down the catwalk. Now, she’s one of the most recognized women in the world, as much for her social life with celebs, such as Johnny Depp and Pete Doherty, as for her enigmatic status as a supermodel. And yet despite the crises and her flaunting of the rules of both etiquette and fashion, she continues to fascinate and survive, as Laura Collins points out in minute detail in Kate Moss: A Story of Outrageous Success.
Beauty "The Look" is older than you think. Max Factor, the Polish émigré who fled a Jewish pogrom for America in 1904, is the man who bestowed bee-stung lips on silent-screen star Clara Bow and transformed Jean Harlow into a platinum blonde. Max Factor: The Man Who Changed the Faces of the World, by Fred E. Basten, gets under the skin of the man who invented such essential makeup tools as false eyelashes, lipgloss and concealer.
Animals Instead of a fluffy kitten or a droopy-eared pooch, give the animal lover on your gift list The End of the Game, by Peter Beard. Beard lived in Kenya in the 1960s, bought land next to his friend Isak Dinesen (who wrote the memoir Out of Africa) and wrote and photographed wildlife, especially elephants. A fashion photographer (he discovered Iman in Africa), as well as a writer and visual artist, Beard takes his readers on a safari without leaving home.
Jewels Jewellery designer Temple St. Clair blends a modern aesthetic and idiosyncratic gold-working techniques with a love of historical narrative. From Florence, Italy (where she first worked as a jeweller), to New York (where her work is now showcased), her rock-crystal amulets and cocktail rings have become signature items. Alchemy: A Passion for Jewels

 

Fragrance, art and pop culture lovers on the next page

Fragrance Behind every memorable scent, there is chemistry, passion and history. In
The Essence of Perfume, perfume expert Roja Dove takes us to ancient Egypt, where it is said that a whiff of Kypi could induce mass surrender, to the rivalry between Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, which inspired some of the world’s most famous fragrances.

ArtPostmodern Art: 1945–Now, by Francesco Poli, maps the changing landscape of art history in disciplines as varied as sculpture and cinema. Poli – who teaches art history at the Academy of Fine Arts in Milan – introduces major figures, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, traces their influences and charts their development in thumbnail biographies.

Pop culture From tipping to blinking, cultural guru Malcolm Gladwell has burrowed into the biggest cultural divide of all time: What makes some people fabulously successful?
Outliers: The Story of Success won’t turn you into a genius, but you will have fun reading the stories about those who are – from Bill Gates to an unknown rancher in northern Missouri. By the end of a rollicking and provocative ride, everyone ends up re-evaluating their notions of success.