Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in contemporary art, yet her sustained engagement with fashion has often been underestimated. Cindy Sherman – Anti-Fashion brings this dimension into sharp focus, offering a concentrated examination of her long-standing dialogue with the fashion industry. Through collaborations with leading designers and magazines, the book reveals how fashion has played a crucial role in Sherman’s ongoing investigations into identity, gender, and social convention.

Rather than treating clothing as ornament, Sherman deploys fashion as a critical tool. Costumes, makeup, and styling become mechanisms through which she exposes cultural stereotypes and the constructed nature of selfhood. The book traces how her assumed personas—shaped by references ranging from film noir and fairy tales to art history—lay bare the artifice of representation. In a contemporary context where identity is increasingly understood as fluid and performative, Sherman’s work feels strikingly prescient, using fashion as a lens for broader societal critique, including perceptions of gender and ageing.

Born in 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Sherman’s artistic evolution—from the seminal Untitled Film Stills to the vivid colour works of her later career—is carefully charted. The book highlights her continual reinvention and her ability to challenge both portraiture and photographic conventions. Cindy Sherman – Anti-Fashion stands as both a tribute to her singular vision and a thoughtful exploration of the intersection between art and fashion, positioning Sherman as a sharp observer and subverter of modern image culture.