Sunday Reads
The world can’t seem to stop talking and thinking about girls. She is an object of obsession, a site of projection, a symbol of transgression, and a crucial figure in shaping visual and cultural narratives. From muse to creator, here are five books that explore women – sometimes from a voyeuristic perspective, and sometimes with a woman at the wheel.
If there’s one person who knows what it means to be a fashion girl in the 21st century, it’s Lotta Volkova. The Russian-born stylist-turned-tastemaker has been instrumental in defining the weird, disheveled yet super girly, or even traditionally fifties, feminine with a twist (as with the lastest Miu Miu show) that’s become a global obsession. Now, she’s taken over System Magazine, and naturally, the result is a fashion magazine you can’t miss out on, featuring everyone worth knowing about.
Forget soft femininity. Pınar Yolacan’s photographs of women are hardcore – both unsettling and impossible to look away from. In Mother Goddess, she explores ancient matriarchal archetypes through a distinctly eerie lens – women draped in sculptural fabrics, looking like forgotten deities from another era. Yolacan has previously photographed elderly women in meat and fabric hybrids (yes, really. This is a book for those who like their goddesses with a side of discomfort, published by my all-time favourite publisher: Baron Books.
Richard Kern’s camera has always loved girls. New York Girls now emerges from a two-year collaboration between photographer Richard Kern and No Agency New York, a modelling agency known for its unconventional approach. This special edition of No Erotica showcases 27 models captured between 2022 and 2024, utilising expired Polaroid film. The project revisits Kern’s provocative 1993 series, New York Girls, but shifts the focus from explicit eroticism to authentic self-expression. The models – representing the diverse talent of No Agency – are portrayed in intimate, unguarded moments. The result is raw and intimate, and hot for real.
Desert Nudes is a sun-drenched, sand-covered ode to the female form, set against the unforgiving backdrop of arid landscapes. “Desert Nudes” is an ongoing series of paintings by Lorena Lohr, an artist primarily recognised for her photographic work. This collection, comprising twenty-two oil-on-panel paintings created over a nine-year period, marks Lohr’s foray into painting exhibitions. The “Desert Nudes” series draws inspiration from her extensive travels across the American Southwest, journeys undertaken via Greyhound buses and railway lines. These experiences have profoundly influenced her visual narratives, leading to a body of work that harmoniously integrates the desert landscape with the female form.
Kate Bush more than a musician – she’s a myth. And we love her. And this book unpacks exactly how she built her world of ghosts, heartbreak, and high-pitched wails. The Secret History of Kate Bush dives deep into her enigmatic career, tracing her influence across pop culture, from Florence Welch’s theatrical melancholia to Björk’s fearless sonic experiments. More than just Kate-talk, this book explores the stranger, more avant-garde corners of pop music, where femininity isn’t just expressed but weaponised. If you’ve ever screamed along to “Wuthering Heights” in your bedroom, this one’s for you.
