I AM IMAN

Iman tells the inspiring, amusing and revealing story of how she shook the world as the first black supermodel. Iman's emergence in 1975 sparked a shift in cultural identity that continues today, and her first book is a gloriously entertaining hybrid essay on the cultural-cum-political power of good looks. A quarter century of the most famous photographs by Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Steven Mesiel, Bruce Weber and other tastemakers are contextualized by writing from key contributors chosen by Iman herself, and Iman's own take on her much-mythologized career. The book design by Jonathan Barnbrook makes it plain that this is not just one woman's success story: I AM IMAN captures the funny, infuriating, and often absurd absurd validation of black and ethnic looks in a beauty industry where billions of dollars - and the self-image of women everywhere - are on the line."

This book is an assemblage of a fashionista's dream. It features such legendary photographers such as: Peter Lindbergh, Scavullo, David Bailey, Sante D'Orazio, Michael Thompson and others. This book also contains specially commisioned, never seen before images by Ellen Von Unwerth, Michel Comte and Annie Liebovitz, making I AM IMAN a must have for any collector of fine photography books. Text by iman herself tells the story of her childhood and explains how she broke barriers to become muse to essential designers Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, YSL, Issey Miyake and Versace. I AM IMAN includes essays from feminist critic bell hooks, model and manager Bethann Hardison, Isabella Rosselini, Isaac Mizrahi, Sandra Bernhard, David Bowie and others. Iman sums it up:" It is a hybrid essay about my own experience with the struggle of identity that is at the heart of fashion. It is about the unserious business of pop-culture and its very serious effect on identity and self-image".