A Look at 14 Designers

W: The Designing Life, by the staff of W, edited by Lois Perschetz (Clarkson N. Potter: $35).

This is the fashion world’s answer to television’s “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”-- a fun, frothy and generally superficial look at the lives and work of 14 top designers (Bill Blass, Emanuel Ungaro, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Norma Kamali, Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Oscar de la Renta, Gianfanco Ferre, Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan, Claude Montana and Valentino).

Everything in the book has already appeared in the publication W. But the typically entertaining profiles of the designers, the features on their homes and the abundance of frequently spectacular photographs should appeal both to serious students of fashion as well as readers who merely want a diverting romp through the last 14 years of international fashion.