An outrageously stylish, wickedly funny novel of fashion in the digital age, The Knockoff is the story of Imogen Tate, editor in chief of Glossy magazine, who finds her twenty-something former assistant Eve Morton plotting to knock Imogen off her pedestal, take over her job, and reduce the magazine, famous for its lavish 768-page September issue, into an app.
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When Imogen returns to work at Glossy after six months away, she can barely recognize her own magazine. Eve, fresh out of Harvard Business School, has fired “the gray hairs,” put the managing editor in a supply closet, stopped using the landlines, and hired a bevy of manicured and questionably attired underlings who text and tweet their way through meetings. Imogen, darling of the fashion world, may have Alexander Wang and Diane von Furstenberg on speed dial, but she can’t tell Facebook from Foursquare and once got her iPhone stuck in Japanese for two days. Under Eve’s reign, Glossy is rapidly becoming a digital sweatshop—hackathons rage all night, girls who sleep get fired, and “fun” means mandatory, company-wide coordinated dances to Beyoncé. Wildly out of her depth, Imogen faces a choice—pack up her Smythson notebooks and quit, or channel her inner geek and take on Eve to save both the magazine and her career. A glittering, uproarious, sharply drawn story filled with thinly veiled fashion personalities, The Knockoff is an insider’s look at the ever-changing world of fashion and a fabulous romp for our Internet-addicted age.
What it does well: It depicts the struggle between the old guard of order and new guard. The accuracy in which it shows the exchanges is dead on correct. The big reveal in this book will knock the wind out of you. I was left gasping when a small plot-line turned into a massive one.
What you want more of: I wanted to watch more sparring between Imogen and Eve. Hopefully, there is a sequel!
Should you read it: Yes, definitely grab a copy and read the book it. If you have ever faced the changing of the guard this is the book for you!
This book will definitely be a great movie to see on screen. Constance Zimmer should play Imogen. Dakota Fanning should play Eve. There should be a guest appearance put in by Carrie Bradshaw. It would be lovely to life. It is definitely a follow up partner to my personal favorite ‘The Devil Wears Prada’