The design team can take months to find just the right paper stock and collaborations with the world’s most luxurious brands – Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, have jettisoned the French-born, New York-based publishing house into the libraries of their growing group of fans around the world.
But it’s also the unexpected partnerships that keep Assouline out on its own. As well as an editorial focus on the rich heritage of design, art and fashion, and a fascination for cultural hotspots, the family-run business produced ‘Barbie’ for Mattel, now a best seller, launched a partnership with Zara that produced a series of travel book covers printed onto t-shirts, took their travel collection to the Moon with the book ‘Moon Paradise’ by astrophysicist and space journalist Sarah Cruddas, and is working on projects from NFTs to a personalised library service that continue to expand the offering and make Assouline a rather interesting and nuanced publisher.
The early days of Assouline began in Paris in 1994. Martine, once a director of communications for French fashion label Rochas, and Prosper, who ran his own creative agency, had the skills to shape visually beautiful books framed by their interest in the rich cultural narratives of the world’s most recognisable luxury brands explored through a contemporary lens.
Assouline founders Prosper and Martine Assouline with their son Alexandre who, along with his brother Sébastien, represents the publishing house's next generation. All photography c/o Assouline.
'For us, books are a matter of intellect and emotion, of heritage and innovation.’
Prosper & Martine Assouline
At a time when digital offerings outpace print on paper, Assouline has embraced the sensory appeal of the tome. Eye-popping covers now define their collections that are handcrafted in the long tradition of bookmaking with hand tipped colour plates and lush illustrations. Books are lavishly designed. beautifully photographed and carefully curated into groups.
The ‘impossible collection,’ features design, art and fashion, the expansive travel series explores far-flung destinations from Tulum to Gstaad, Capri, the Red Sea and now the Moon, and the group’s special editions and ultimate collections include ‘Versailles: From Louis XIV to Jeff Koons’ that dives deep into the cultural legacy of the building and the people who shaped it. As well as the fascinationg ‘Louis Vuitton: Virgil Abloh,’ that explores the lasting creative impact of the designer through his closest friends in fashion.
‘We created this company to be the first luxury brand on culture. We wanted to supply everything for a contemporary library; we started working with top perfumers for scented candles, with Goyard for a book trunk, with Chanel on a quilted leather slipcase…'
Prosper & Martine Assouline
With a collection of more than a thousand titles, Assouline remains guided by a 'passion for knowledge, culture and travel’ and a creative force that embraces the best brands, artists, photographers, writers and designers. It is an approach that gives each book its highly visceral appeal.
The Assouline book collection is available exclusively in Australia from Space – Australia.
