Fashionable Reads—Real And Otherwise

Summer reading? Fashion folks aren’t necessarily known for their book smarts (you’re more likely to catch them cracking the latest issue of i-D than Finnegans Wake), but they sure know how to fake it in style. Olympia Le-Tan’s whimsical clutches, which are made to look like famous novels such as Moby-Dick and Lolita, have been a smash success both on the red carpet and in the streets. The Kate Spade label picked up on the bags’ popularity and created its own editions. And at Zero + Maria Cornejo, the designer put her spin on the trend by printing library shelves on a draped silk dress. There are, of course, a few rogue intellectuals in the bunch. Top model Frida Gustavsson can often be found backstage thumbing through a highbrow paperback. Daphne Guinness, naturally, was toting Harold Bloom’s The Anxiety of Influence at the Couture shows. And while vacationing in Mexico recently, Naomi Campbell got her Kabbalah fix by skimming the Zohar—even if it was upside-down.

CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW, and let us know if you plan on joining the book club this summer.