Cool: Style, Sound, and Subversion - Softcover

Foley, Greg; Luecke, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0789332841 ISBN 13: 9780789332844

Publisher: Rizzoli, 2017

Synopsis

Cool is a compendium of global youth subcultures and street styles—from Flappers to Swing Kids, to Goths to today’s Normcore—that have shaped the fashion zeitgeist.
 
It’s no secret that the youth of the world buck conventional mainstream culture every chance they get, blazing countercultural trails in the process. Driven by their thirst for art and music, and their environment, young people combine their inspirations with the innate desire to rebel, resulting in a defiant subculture; and mainstream society runs to catch up, to co-opt it, and drag it to the mainstream. Lindy Hoppers of the 1930s, greasers of the 1950s, Rude Boys of the 1960s, glam rockers of the 1970s, club kids of the 1980s: there are countless subculture styles that were born from resisting authority.
 
COOL: Style, Sound, and Subversion is equal parts historical chronicle and handbook of the myriad subcultures—most unknown to mainstream culture—that have influenced style. Authors Greg Foley and Andrew Luecke have compiled a comprehensive list of subcultures that have evolved over more than one hundred years, taking a look at the fashion, the art, the films, the books, the music, and historical context of these style movements, many of which came to influence conventional culture and eventually became a norm. Lavish with original illustrations, COOL references a wealth of ephemera—including a timeline, zeitgeist films, ’zines, secret music scenes, art collectives, and over one hundred music playlists tied to specific subcultures through the years—to give the reader a thoroughly vibrant picture of each movement and their sub-movements. COOL: Style, Sound, and Subversion is sure to appeal to fashionistas, culture mavens, and pop culture fans alike.

About this title

About the Author

Award-winning author-illustrator Greg Foley designs and creative-directs Visionaire, V Magazine, VMAN and VFiles. He is also the author of the Thank You Bear (Viking) children's book series, and Kat Writes a Song (Little Simon).

Andrew Luecke is a professional trend forecaster and style editor.

Contributions by: Susanne Bartsch, Ice-T, Kelis, Shepard Fairey, A$AP Ferg, Fischerspooner, Sasha Frere-Jones, Larry Jackson, Merck Mercuriadis, Glenn O'Brien, Marky Ramone, Nile Rodgers, Stefan Sagmeister, Peter Saville, Michael Stipe, Andrew W.K., Zaldy.

Review

"Worth a look for the illustrations and playlists of influential songs alone."
—Le Miami Blog : The Shift 

“A thorough, global taxonomy to the style subcultures that have gone against the grain over the past century: from flappers to riot grrrls to Harajuku to oogles.”
—Vogue 
 
“Required reading . . . With excerpts from the likes of A$AP Ferg, Glenn O’Brien, and more, Cool makes not only talking about style, but learning about what inspires it and how it works, a top contender on anyone’s must-read list.”
—Refinery 29 
 
“COOL: Style, Sound, and Subversion by Greg Foley and Andrew Luecke is the first illustrated book to go through and analyze youth subcultures around the world, from the Flappers of the 1920s to Normcore of today. . . . Subcultures, the emblem of youth rebellion over the last 100 years, have largely exceeded the boundaries of fashion, drawing inspiration and projecting influences in the worlds of art, music, and politics. All are elements that ‘COOL: Style, Sound, and Subversion’ analyzes page after page.” 
—translated from Vogue Italia 
 
“If you’ve ever wanted to have a personal fashion history lesson but don’t have the time or patience to be in a classroom again, this is the book for you.” 
—V Magazine 
 
“How do we determine what’s cool?... Working with writer and style guru Andrew Luecke, author-illustrator Greg Foley unpacks this phenomenon and spills it onto the pages of Cool, a monograph that, through Foley’s watercolors, captures trends and fashion movements across a century.
—Out 
 
“Greg Foley and Andrew Luecke have assembled a story that has been told before but never quite like this.”
—New York Journal of Books
 
“Beyond Foley’s creative vision and stunning illustrations and Luecke’s painstaking research, what also sets this book apart are the contributions from standouts in each field. Ice T identified his five favorite gangsta rap songs. Susanne Bartsch lent her expertise on club kids and Eighties New York nightlife. Other contributors include Shepard Fairey, Glenn O’Brien, Marky Ramone, Nile Rodgers, and A$AP Ferg, adding an authentic, first-person element to the comprehensive dive into subcultures.”
—The Last Magazine

Edition details

• Publisher: Rizzoli
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0789332841
• ISBN 13: 9780789332844
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 280