Author: Dana Thomas

Publisher: Penguin Press

Comments: A journalistic account of two tortured, creative souls: Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. The first ending with suicide, the second, disgrace and alcoholism - although he is now getting a second chance as creative director of Maison Margiela. Thomas takes a tougher line with Galliano than with McQueen and implies that Galliano's collaborators share responsibility for his downfall. She takes a kinder line on McQueen. But the question remains: who has contributed more to the fashion world. This book, as well as "Alexander McQueen: Blood beneath the Skin" by Andrew Wilson, paint a striking picture of the pressures acting on young designers, barely trained for the roles they take on as creative directors of major fashion houses.