The Fashion Conspiracy

From the catwalks of Paris to the sweatshops of South Korea, and from Seventh Avenue glitz to Tokyo new-wave, this is a portrait of the jet-setting matrons who are the gurus and tyrants of the fashion press; of personalities such as Paloma Picasso and Tina Chow; of the store buyers who command $700 million a season. It probes the world of the designer billionaires like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Yves St Laurent, whose fashion empires are wealthier than entire Third World countries. Nicholas Coleridge's other books include "Around the World in 78 Days", the novel "Shooting the Stars", and "How I Met My Wife", a collection of short stories.