The book is a comprehensive guide to the protagonists of fashion in the 21st century’s first decade. It is like a particularly glamorous bird-watcher’s manual, where you can finally put a face to the editorial credit. New York-based German photographer Anna Bauer took pictures of the fashion scene’s personalities backstage after the shows in Paris, Milan, London and New York using a heavy large-format camera and black-and-white Polaroids. It’s remarkable how natural the models, designers, investors, critics, stylists and fashion photographers look in these pictures, with which Anna Bauer not only captures their surface, but also their souls.

Anna Bauer grew up near Marburg, Germany. In 2002 she moved to New York, where she completed a BFA in photography at the School of Visual Arts. Her photography has been published in brandeins, Die Zeit, Interview and W.

Fabien Baron’s minimalist book design perfectly complements the reduced black-and-white Polaroids. Considered one of the most influential art directors of his generation, Baron has created iconic campaigns for many fashion and luxury brands, including Calvin Klein.

Tim Blanks, the internationally renowned fashion critic, wrote the introduction for the book. Formerly host of the globally syndicated Fashion File, he is now editor-at-large for style.com, as well as a contributor to Vogue, GQ, Fantastic Man and Interview.