First published 2025
Gene Pressman opens his family's vault of secrets, exposing decades of backroom deals that transformed a single suit shop into a fashion powerhouse. Starting with his grandfather Barney's modest 1923 storefront, Gene traces how three generations of Pressmans turned one Manhattan location into a global retail empire. He walks readers through handshake agreements with rising designers, late nights at exclusive clubs, and front-row access to fashion's biggest names including Armani, Alaïa, Wintour, and Meisel. The Pressmans dressed celebrities, models, CEOs, and sultans worldwide, but success came with a price. Gene exposes the family conflicts, financial missteps, and scandals that eventually destroyed what took decades to build. His insider account spans New York's gritty streets to Paris runways, revealing both the formula behind Barneys' meteoric rise and the fatal flaws that caused its collapse.
Genres: 20th-century, business, american, non-fiction, 21st-century, fashion
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-perspective, rise-and-fall
Setting: Manhattan, New York, Paris
Period: 1923, 20th-century, 21st-century
400 pages · Hardcover · Viking