Though released by two publishers and technically unrelated, the two Supreme coffee table books collectively tell the story of what is arguably the most important brand in the Grailed universe.

Yes, Supreme is the number one selling brand on the site, but that's only because it occupies such a unique place in fashion today. Since 1994 the New York label has not only laid the foundation for streetwear as we know it, but was key in connecting the individual subcultures—hip-hop, skating and punk—that collectively serve as the inspiration for modern menswear. More than just a skate shop and streetwear label, with its countless artist collaborations and groundbreaking Louis Vuitton capsule collection, Supreme broke the wall between streetwear and capital-"F" fashion, shifting us into what is the current menswear paradigm.

Released a decade apart, the two self-titled Supreme books tell the brand’s story through rare interviews, extensive product catalogues and seasonal lookbooks detailing the rise of the quintessential downtown New York label. Released in 2010 and 2020 respectively, the first book—written and edited by former store manager Aaron Bondaroff—spans the first 16 years of the company, while the 2020 release (with publisher Phaidon as opposed to Rizzoli) covers 2010 onwards. Collectively, the two offer an in-depth look at the notoriously press-averse label, one of the few insights into founder James Jebbia’s illustrious career and the formation of his lucrative business. While both books can still be found at retail, the original 2010 hardcover is increasingly difficult to come across. Thankfully, there’s always lightly used copies floating around on Grailed.

An avant-garde auteur and fashion industry darling, Rick Owens is one of the most celebrated American designers working today. Born and raised in California, the designer launched his label in 1994 before relocating his business and atelier to Paris with wife and partner Michèle Lamy.

Today, the two operate a wholly independent nine-figure business that spans furniture, art, hundreds of wholesalers and a chain of flagship stores around the world. Before Owens was one of the most anticipated names on the Paris fashion calendar, he was a small-time leather worker, producing knock-offs for LA bootleg shops. After meeting Lamy, Owens transformed a small collection of handmade leather jackets into one of the most respected and widely imitated labels in modern fashion.

While his story has been told countless times by an endless string of journalists and profiles—Owens is not one to shy away from conversation—in 2011 the designer decided to take his narrative into his own hands. The result, the self-titled Rick Owens, is a nearly two feet tall monolith, a literal tome capturing the most important milestones in his career thus far. Authored by Owens himself—the designer is also a published author—with excerpts by Purple founder and editor Olivier Zahm and Italian art director Francesco Bonami, the nearly six pound book is not only fascinating, but inherently collectible, long-since sold out (and no longer in print). Though Owens has released a number of books since, the 2011 self-titled behemoth is by far the most coveted. More than a tell-all, it is a sign of serious fashion fandom.

Despite his reputation and key role in the formation of Japanese streetwear, not much is known about the “Godfather of streetwear” and collaboration juggernaut Hiroshi Fujiwara stateside. While his prowess and influence is well regarded amongst industry peers—ranging from Dior Mens designer Kim Jones to Takashi Murakami and Virgil Abloh—amongst the younger generation the figure is relatively unknown. Fragment Design, however, is a near household name.

The hub for the multi-hyphenate’s numerous creative endeavors, Fragment Design has produced some of the most lauded and commercially successful collaborations in recent memory. A creative consulting and product development firm, Fragment Design does everything from developing pop-up concepts to launching labels, all from Fujiwara’s unique and deeply knowledgeable point of view. From Pokémon to Louis Vuitton and Nike to Moncler, Fragment has acted as conduit connecting the various segments of the extended menswear universe. Although Fujiwara is considerably less vocal than he once was and his public persona has shrunk with age, his finger is still on the pulse of culture—now represented through Fragment Design.

In order to document three decades worth of product, relationships and cultural relevance, Fujiwara partnered with Rizzoli to release Hiroshi Fujiwara: Fragment back in 2014. A bible for the streetwear and street fashion obsessed, the book documents Fujiwara’s beginning, the formation of Fragment Design and the hundreds of collaborations the creative had overseen to that point. Now, with the highly anticipated Hiroshi Fujiwara: Fragment #2 releasing this fall, it’s a perfect time to get to know arguably the most important man in modern Japanese street fashion before the sequel drops. If you are interested in any of the Ura-Harajuku labels—including Undercover, Neighborhood, WTAPS—Fujiwara has a hand in all of them, making this book essential reading.

There are numerous books about Yohji Yamamoto. Over his nearly 50 year career, the master has perfected the art or drape, broken down traditional codes of gender and, most famously, perfected the use of black. In the decades since his 1981 Paris Fashion Week debut, Yamamoto—a pivotal figure in the decade’s anti-fashion movement alongside contemporaries Rei Kawakubo and Martin Margiela—Yamamoto has become synonymous with integrating Japanese codes into European tailoring, breaking down the borders between traditional Eastern and Western formal wear. His revolutionary approach (and predominantly black color palette) have been the basis for coffee table books and research pieces alike, but they all pale in comparison to to Yamamaoto & Yohji.

Released in 2014, the 400-plus page book is a compendium of over four decades in the fashion spotlight. Featuring rare runway photos and famous campaign images from famed photographers and regular Yamamoto collaborators including Nick Knight, Inez & Vinoodh and Craig McDean, Yamamaoto & Yohji is a definitive guide to one of the most influential menswear designers of the past century. More than simply a fashion retrospective, the work explores Yamamoto’s ever-growing universe, including his numerous diffusion lines and stints in film, costume design and architecture. If you’re a fan of black head-to-toe, Yamamoto is likely the reason why—even if you have never worn his clothing. It’s time to discover why.

While it may no longer be hip-hop’s favorite streetwear in brand, for the majority of the '00s—when founder and creative director NIGO was still at the helm—BAPE was the most recognized and successful label out of the Urahara scene. Launched in 1993 literally alongside Jun Takahashi’s Undercover, BAPE came to epitomize Japanese streetwear. As opposed to Undercover (which was punk-influenced and highly-experimental), BAPE founder NIGO was inspired by nostalgia, specifically that related to media from the United States. Pop culture, pop art and bold colors formed the basis for an entire lifestyle. Combined with the infamous camouflage and outsize aesthetic, BAPE became a smash hit, launching the fashion careers of numerous collaborators and employees and influencing not only American streetwear, but fashion as a whole.

To commemorate its 15th anniversary, Japanese streetwear juggernaut BAPE released A Bathing Ape in 2008. The label’s full name—a reference to an old Japanese proverb roughly translating to “a bathing ape in lukewarm water,” symbolizing indulgence—the 372-page tell all was available in three different covers, each more rare than the next. While the general release green camo is relatively common, the blue and pink versions are increasingly rare, and given how all volumes sold out and the book is officially out of print, only rising in value.

Despite NIGO selling off his stake and severing ties with the label in 2013, the label defined early-2000s fashion and is critical to understanding the current menswear paradigm. Even if you are not a fan of Tiger Head full-zip hoodies, this book is a worthy addition to any menswear fan’s shelf.

Ralph Lauren is the most important designer in American history. It may sound like hyperbole, but as far as menswear—and the Grailed universe—is concerned, it’s the truth.

When Ralph Lifshitz started selling neckties in 1967, he was an admittedly handsome young Jewish man from the Bronx with a renowned charm and stellar sense of personal style. Over the next half century, however, Lauren transformed a small catalog business into an international fashion titan, the only American to rival the European houses. Combining aspects of the Southwest, Ivy Prep and 1920s Hollywood glamor, Lauren brought his vision of American upper-class elegance to life. Despite having no relation to East Coast aristocracy, Lauren created the quintessential Upper East Side label, an extended universe that showed what American life could—and should—be.

With an HBO documentary, countless books, a mansion on Madison Ave and a ranch spanning thousands of acres in Colorado, the Ralph Lauren fable has been told countless times over. Still, Ralph Lauren: 50 Years provides a rare glimpse into the life of one of the most idolized men in American fashion. Released in 2017, the book features countless never-before-seen images of a young Lauren, rarely glimpsed photos of the infamous RRL ranch and the family’s personal residences—all boasting Lauren’s home collection and world-renowned taste. When it comes to building more than a brand, but a lifestyle, no one has ever done it better. This book shows you exactly what that entails. While trends come and go, Ralph is forever. Buy this book and you will quickly see why.

Few creatives working today are worthy of a “mid-career retrospective.” Virgil Abloh, however, is one of them. While unorthodox to look back at one’s work less than halfway through their career, given Abloh’s multidisciplinary nature and the countless creative endeavours the man juggles concurrently, it felt appropriate last yeah when he announced “Figures of Speech.”

Hosted at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the roaming exhibit explored Abloh’s entire oeuvre thus far, ranging from his blog “The Brilliance” to his time as an intern at Fendi with Kanye, years working as West’s creative director, highlights at Off-White, #BEENTRILL#, Louis Vuitton and everything in-between. Naturally, as any marquee museum exhibition does, Abloh created a book to document the process aptly titled, Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech.

Released alongside the exhibit as part of a limited capsule collection, the book outlines Abloh’s wide-ranging interests, the formation of the exhibit and what it means to look back from his current position. While ostensibly one massive Ikea-blue tome headed straight for the coffee table, Figures of Speech is in fact three separate books held together by a specialized Swiss binding. Purposefully exposing the book’s spine, the cover lays flat to reveal the three sections: catalogues, archives and index. Each section explores a different element of the show, explaining how the exhibits and Abloh are interconnected, with numerous interviews, essays, images and sketches documenting Abloh’s career thus far. Whether you are a fan of Abloh’s or not, Figures of Speech is a perfect way to enter the mind of one of the most recognizable—and influential—men in fashion today—menswear or otherwise.

More than just a preternaturally talented designer, Jun Takahashi is a central figure in the Grailed universe. A staff and community favorite since day one, for years Jun Takahashi was a relative unknown. A highlight on the Paris fashion calendar, insiders raved about the brilliant designer’s grotesquely beautiful collections, equal parts horrific and romantic with an underlying quirkiness. Grounded in punk, Undercover was never just simply Japanese streetwear or runway fashion, it was something more and never got its due credit.

Of course, 25 years of business, a Nike running line, Uniqlo collections and, of course, a Supreme collaboration helped changed all of that. Today, Takahashi is rightfully one of the most respected designers in the industry, whose work spans music, film, animation, art installation and runway shows doubling as performance art.

Surprisingly, Undercover: Jun Takahashi is the first comprehensive book on one of the most prolific fashion designers working today. Despite being founded in 1990, the 25th anniversary book was released in 2016, and was widely regarded as the best fashion book in years, a must-have for any collector. Entirely chronological, the 256 page compendium begins with a short foreward by noted critic Suzy Menkes who, quite methodically, explains how Takahashi is not only brilliant, but has never produced a bad collection.

This extraordinary praise leads into a year by breakdown of how Undercover went from the back streets of Harajuku to the Paris runway, and all the incredible lookbook and runway imagery that goes along with it. If you are interested in Japanese fashion, this is of course a must, but beyond that, the images themselves—like all of Takahashi’s work—are strikingly beautiful. Available with a limited collectible hard case, the Undercover book may be shorter than many others on this list, but hardly lacks in content.

Before John Galliano took over the reigns at Maison Margiela, the house—then still called Maison Martin Margiela—was under the direction of its eponymous leader. Notoriously press-averse and rarely ever seen in public, Martin Margiela was one of the most intriguing figures in fashion. Failing to bow after his shows and refusing to answer any questions, Margiela preferred to let his clothes speak for themselves and, sure enough, they did.

A year ahead of the Antwerp Six and the ostensible head of the anti-fashion movement, Margiela was a maverick, who argued plain clothes were fashion years before it became a tenable view point. For every rule the designer broke, he made a new one to replace it and no matter how you felt about his anti-establishment take on the industry, you listened.

In 2009—shortly before the designer left public life altogether—he released Maison Martin Margiela. Written by the Belgian designer himself, the book traces the label all the way back to its seminal 1988 debut show. A Margiela product through and through, the book, written with varied inks, mixed paper types and clad in the iconic house white feels as much an art piece as a resource, a mishmash of mundane beauty much like the label itself. With contributions mentors like Jean Paul Gaultier, and fans ranging from Vanessa Beecroft to Carine Roitfeld, the book is a rare glimpse into what was at the time the most elusive brand in fashion.

Though it may feel less relevant today, the plain clothes fashion Margiela explored is increasingly prescient, setting the stage for everyone from Balenciaga and Vetements to Martine Rose.

We have already written extensively on the significance of author W. David Marx’s Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style, because it is that fundamental. Tracing the lineage of Japanese fashion and the outsized influence American style had on post-war Japan, the novel is essential reading for anyone looking for an understanding of modern menswear.

While the title “Ametora”—shorthand for “American traditional”—references the East Coast Ivy style that invaded Japan in the ‘80s, the novel is much more than a Take Ivy redux, offering a full deep dive on how American vintage, thrift, denim and military surplus formed the basis for an entire subculture in the country.

If you want to understand why Japanese denim is so popular, or why labels ranging from Junya Watanabe to Neighborhood are obsessed with vintage workwear, Ametora is a crucial starting point. As workwear continues to trend, the novel has grown increasingly prescient, and explains why, for generations, the Japanese have made American wardrobe staples better than Americans could possibly dream of.