Fashion moves fast. From technological upheavals to an increasingly frenetic global trend cycle, industry leaders are constantly tasked with predicting what comes next — which is no small feat in 2026. The month of August offers some respite, a chance to reflect and reset before September kicks things into gear once more. That might look like sitting back with a good book, but there is a lot to learn from these quieter moments, too, especially if your book of choice cuts to the heart of some of fashion’s most pressing issues.
The Vogue Business fashion executives’ reading list brings together books exploring algorithms, attention, taste, art, identity and ecological responsibility. These books span hard-hitting non-fiction, thoughtful memoirs and page-turning fashion biographies, taking a closer look at some of the forces shaping fashion and society today, from the way that algorithmic recommendations shape taste to earning attention in a fragmented media landscape.
This reading list gathers global leaders from across the fashion, luxury and retail industries to share the essential reads that have changed their outlook, informed their worldview and shaped their leadership.
Divya Mathur, chief merchandising officer and fashion director at Revolve Group
Cork Dork, by Bianca Bosker
Bosker quit her job as a tech editor to train as a sommelier. Cork Dork is the funny account of her year and a half spent among people who smell everything twice and eat parmesan blocks to prime their palates. Is refined taste real perception, or just elaborate theater? It got me thinking about how we define taste in fashion and how much of it can be trained.
Mame Annan-Brown, chief communications officer at Gap Inc.
Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
As someone with an international heritage, Crying in H Mart resonated with me on a deeply personal level. Michelle Zauner beautifully captures what it means to navigate multiple cultures, hold onto family traditions, and stay connected to the people we love through food, language, and memory. While her story is rooted in the Korean American experience, the emotions at its heart — identity, belonging, grief, and love — are universal.
What moved me the most was the way she brings culture to life through everyday moments: the meals we share, the traditions we carry forward, and the relationships that shape us. It’s a powerful reminder that our individual stories are what make diversity meaningful and that taking the time to understand one another can bridge the gaps between us, creating greater empathy, connection, and appreciation for experiences different from our own.
Caroline Cochin de Billy, VP of supply partnerships at Farfetch
Air, by Bertil Scali & Raphaël de Andréis
Air is a French dystopian novel set against ecological catastrophe. It follows the story of Peter, who is navigating the consequences of an eco-dictatorship, where society judges people according to their environmental responsibility and placing them on a “carbon list”. The theme I found most interesting is the trade-off between individual accountability for one’s carbon footprint versus economic and personal freedom. It reminds us to recognize what people have to give up for the good of the planet, while making the case for regulation that people can live with realistically.
Katie Rudik, SVP at Purple PR
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, by Shoshana Zuboff
When I picked this book up, what struck me wasn’t a warning about privacy so much as a framework for understanding power. Zuboff argues that our clicks, searches, scrolls and seemingly insignificant digital behaviors have become a commodity, feeding what she calls “behavioral futures markets”, where companies aren’t just predicting what we’ll do next, but actually shaping those decisions. Suddenly, “my phone is definitely listening to me” became eerily accurate. Product recommendations and new features looked less like neutral design and more like carefully engineered systems.
