The Beautiful Generation: Asian Americans and the Cultural Economy of Fashion

This was the first book I purchased for my Kindle and I really enjoyed it. Folks who are not accustomed to academic writing might sometimes find the book a little bit dense at times, but I didn't think it was too difficult and I certainly don't have any kind of advanced degree. I learned a lot about not just Asian American fashion designers, but also about the fashion industry in general in Asia and in New York. It was fun to get a little insight on designers whom I otherwise only knew as labels I have seen at Anthropologie or high end department store websites, and very interesting to learn a little more about the day-to-day concerns of a small-time fashion designer and the ways in which aspects of Asian American community that I am familiar with as a Chinese American woman can have an effect on this career path. I also really enjoyed the section about Orientalism in fashion as I have had my own opinions on this since I experienced this trend in the 90s, and always enjoy reading about these sorts of things on fashion blogs like Threadbared (which you should definitely check out if you liked this book).

Wonderful academic read

This book is on the Rorotoko list. Professor Tu's interview on "The Beautiful Generation" ran as the Rorotoko Cover Feature on August 24, 2011 (and can be read in the Rorotoko archive).