Come Under the Cover with model Paloma Elsesser as the inaugural guest in our new video series where we invite cultural voices to share the books that have shaped them.

A nuanced reader, Paloma traces how books offered her refuge as a young child, and how her library card became an unexpectedly essential tool when she first started modelling. From the radical Toni Morrison novel she received from her mother that helped to reframe her idea of beauty, to serendipitously shooting with Lauren Greenfield years after an encounter with Girl Culture impacted her as a teenager growing up in Los Angeles, Paloma shares the books that have raised her and expanded her worldview. Her picks are both personal and political, including Treasure, the book she created over 5 years in collaboration with photographer Zora Sicher documenting the intimate journey of two major breast surgeries, Madonna’s unapologetic 1992 Sex book and performance artist Orlan's body modifications in Walter Van Beirendonck's 1999 book Believe. Pulling from the shelves at Climax NYC and her own personal library, watch and learn as she reveals the far-ranging titles that have steered her throughout her life and career.

Scroll down to shop Paloma’s Under the Cover picks.