Because everything is better as a giant monograph, FIT’s permanent collection is getting the coffee-table treatment. In “Fashion Designers A–Z” (Taschen), the esteemed museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology examines its own important pieces by the likes of Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood. Mining their cultural significance and providing historical perspective are the museum’s chief curator and force of nature, Valerie Steele, and the IHT’s Suzy Menkes.

$350, available from Taschen.com in six designer volumes, each hand-bound in Italy from a fabric created by Prada, Missoni, Diane von Furstenberg, Akris, Etro, and Stella McCartney.