The Books That Changed My Life with Liz Sunshine

culture

The Books That Changed My Life with Liz Sunshine

29/06/26

Author: RIISE Team

DOCUMENTED BY: LIZ SUNSHINE

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RIISE presents, The Books That Changed My Life, an editorial series where we explore the ideas, art and cultural influences that shape who we are and how we view the world. In each instalment, we invite creative voices from our community to share personal literary touchstones that have profoundly shaped or moved them.

From the pavements of fashion week to the quiet act of looking closely, Liz Sunshine has spent over a decade documenting how we dress — and, more recently, why. In this edition of The Books That Changed My Life, the Melbourne-based documentary fashion and portrait photographer shares the titles that have shaped how she thinks about people, clothes and consumption — and the ones that later led her to question what she was capturing, what she was buying, and what it really means to pay attention. Considered, curious and quietly political, her picks double as a primer — a syllabus for anyone wanting in on a better way of thinking about what we wear.

01. The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron

It was probably 2019 when I started to think differently about clothes. My commercial work was starting to feel different; I wasn’t as excited about what I had been photographing and was looking to change pace. As a freelancer, I needed a path and some structure to help rewrite my career, and The Artists Way became that.

Now, 7 years later, I’m looking for change again, and after a week of morning pages and artist dates, I already feel clearer about where I’m going.

02. Fashionopolis, Dana Thomas

Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas, The Coat Route by Meg Lukens Noonan, and The Psychology of Fashion by Carolyn Mair were all read during a period that propelled immense change in my relationship with fashion. I started to educate myself on a deeper level and found that each of these books strengthened my identity, ultimately propelling me into a project that I’m still working on five years later.

Though different, the stories they carried changed the way I thought about the clothes I own, what I value, and how I wanted to connect with fashion in general.

05. Images, Simon Porte Jacquemus

I see myself as a curious image maker, someone unafraid to push boundaries, even though I am also drawn to very simple images. When I first came across Images by Simon Porte Jacquemus, it changed my thinking around image-making. Shot completely on an iPhone, it felt modern, rebellious, exciting, and beautiful.

It was possibly two years later that I published my own book using AI-generated images and really started to see my own work as art. Though AI challenges many creatives, and I had to answer a lot of questions about why I used it - while navigating the disappointment of people who disagreed with my decision - I believe that project was a sign of immense creative growth. It remains one of the pieces of work I am most proud of, and I still stand behind it wholeheartedly.

06. The Year of Less, Cait Flanders

I read The Year of Less by Cait Flanders during the winter holidays of 2024, and two weeks later I decided to take a year off shopping and start a Substack. I spent the next 12 months living with the clothes I already owned and writing about the experience.

I learnt so much about myself during that year and have been craving a return to it ever since. It also taught me that I can do hard things and still operate within the fashion industry, opening my horizons to future possibilities, new projects, and stronger personal boundaries.

07. Utterly Lazy and Inattentive, Martin Parr, Wendy Jones

Utterly Lazy and Inattentive by Martin Parr and Wendy Jones is not a normal photography book. It tells the story of Martin Parr's life through images.

For the last few years, I have been reckoning not only with disposable fashion culture, but also with disposable image culture - where social media demands images be posted, scrolled past, liked, and forgotten the following day. This book has been helping me rethink how I'd like to operate as a photographer. Through 150 images, it tells the story of a life and a career.

It has reminded me that our images can outlive us, and that I want to be intentional in how I create and the story my work tells. I don't want to simply be a cog in the wheel.