"Blue is in fashion this year" from The Language of Fashion[0] might fit the bill. It has been several years since I read the book, but I remember it being quite difficult to get through.
The rant in "The Devil Wears Prada" is fairly correct from a more practical standpoint. We're talking about things like trend development[1] and trickle-down theory[2] (in the fashion sense). If you only read one book on fashion it should probably be Fashion-ology[3].
"Perhaps if college and high school students were given the chance to peek into the whole world of opportunity in written expression, the humanities would see a resurgence."
To be fair I'm not sure these fairly traditional elite universities are representative for all schools.
[0] http://books.google.se/books/about/The_Language_of_Fashion.h...
[1] Chapter 9 and 10: http://www.prschool.ge/img/every_day/Fashion%20Marketing.pdf
[2] http://www.margaritabenitez.com/trends/lectures/TRENDS_CH03....
[3] http://books.google.se/books/about/Fashion_ology.html?id=LUW...