—by Katie Baron.
For 30 years, New York-based publishing house Assouline has stood as a glossy bedrock of worldly good taste. Here the family behind the brand discuss the changing language of luxury and increasing value of objects of desire in the digital era.
Preceded by their formidable reputation for consummately French personal chic, the family affair that is the Assouline publishing house—the protagonists being co-founders Prosper and Martine Assouline and their youngest son Alexandre—exists as one of the book business’ most beguiling dynasties. With a roving eye spread across the pointiest ends of art, architecture, fashion, travel, gastronomy and automobiles, and into the slightly more amorphous subjects of style and lifestyle, the eponymous publishing house has stood as both a bastion of sophistication and a wholly unapologetic gatekeeper of taste since its inception three decades ago.
To be part of the Assouline inner circle is to embrace elite affirmation; blue-chip property owners want its bookshops in their lobbies, erudite hoteliers clamour to be the stewards of its destination guides, while megabrands such as Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton salivate over the prospect of a super-book all their own—a fantasy made achievable via the publisher’s partner books division.
Prosper and Martine Assouline at company
headquarters on Park Avenue. Image: Oliver Pilcher.
The charmingly organic origin story of outliers-turned- publishing gurus begins in 1994 when Prosper and Martine—him a Moroccan-born, Paris-raised then-art director working in the advertising industry; her a former publicist working for high-end brands including Rochas—were staying at La Colombe d’Or hotel in France’s Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. A beacon for artists and bon vivants, with a history to rival the Bloomsbury Group’s Charleston Farmhouse or the Sussex home of surrealist painter Roland Penrose and photographer Lee Miller, the hotel has hosted the likes of Matisse, Miró, Braque, Picasso, Chagall and Calder over the years, each one leaving their creative mark on its walls or gardens.
“It’s one of our favourite places in the world,” says Martine, speaking to The Luxury Report from the family’s holiday residence in St Tropez. “As we soaked in its beauty, we thought there should be a book about this special place. We realised that the design and essence of the books available at the time did not match what a book on La Colombe d’Or would deserve, so we decided to create our own. Prosper took the pictures and I wrote the text.” The project combined the couple’s shared aesthetes’ antennae for all things luxuriously magnetic; anything more was just a glint in their eyes.
“At the time, we didn’t realise this would lead to founding a publishing house. We aimed to go beyond generic editorial content and create something much larger.” Bigger, bolder books that double as the props of desire are still at the core of their proposition, Martine states: “Our vision was the same then as it is today: to be the first luxury brand on culture. We create books that are more like objets d’arts.”
Since the early days, the house has largely focused on the power of posterity, immortalising the creative genius or magic aura of places (Ibiza, Jaipur, The Hamptons), brands (Moschino, Tiffany), movements or epochs (Bauhaus, pop art, Moroccan decorative arts, 1920s Paris), and intriguing individuals or couples (from Warhol to Jorge Luis Borges and María Kodama). In doing so, Assouline books have committed their subjects’ importance to both the printed page and the wider cultural discourse—all the while quieting the frantic pace and noise of internet-churned pop culture.
“In the beginning […] we decided to create a small series on maisons de couture called Memoires de Mode [memories of fashion], celebrating Azzedine Alaïa, Coco Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet, and Christian Dior,” Prosper explains. “Then and now, our goal is to shape cultural conversations, creating a lasting source of inspiration for generations to come.” It’s a strategy that even extends to evergreen mainstream characters and brands, if storied enough to transcend their humbler roots. Assouline’s book on Barbie, along with the dollmaker’s canny limited-edition collabs with artists such as pop surrealist Mark Ryden, will most certainly help cement the doll-icon’s elevated place in cultural history.
The physicality of the printed page, the sensory pleasure of analogue touch, remains core to sparking the synapses of a true luxury experience, says Martine. “Our digital world goes faster than ever and nothing remains of it. But books are a solid part of our past and present. For us, books are a matter of intellect and emotion, of heritage and innovation, and nothing can replicate the pleasure of leafing through a handcrafted title and enjoying its design.” In this sentiment, she reveals, the Assoulines are not alone—an assertion supported by the small but sure (0.37 per cent) predicted annual growth in global sales of physical books until at least the end of the decade according to Statista, a resurgence attributed to a desire for tangible reading experiences that digital counterparts clearly have not satisfied.
Galleries, museums and physical events are also experiencing a revival rooted in more than just a fleeting post-pandemic rebellion. “In Assouline’s clients, we’ve found an entire network that feels the same way,” says Martine, “so we think that there will always be people who feel a desire for and connection to physical sources of inspiration.” Which is not to say that digital innovation and media are anathema to the Assouline cosmos. As part of its 30th anniversary celebrations, the firm this month launched a podcast and digital magazine, Culture Lounge, with the intention of “uncovering and complementing the stories behind Assouline”. Yet the element of physical touch still bears the most tantalising grip.
While Assouline cannot claim the monopoly on beautiful physical books, the brand’s respect for savoir-faire, for the magic and extraordinary quality inherent in artisanal making, does set it apart, says Prosper. “Almost every aspect of an Assouline book is developed in-house by us and our editorial and creative teams, which is unique in the publishing industry,” he shares. “And nearly all of our titles are printed in Italy. Our Ultimate Collection is particularly distinctive because it pays homage to the art of traditional bookmaking. [Each book is] handbound using traditional techniques, with colour plates hand-tipped on art-quality paper. Each limited-edition tome of this series bears the unique imprint of the artisan.”
Immoderate extravagance is essential in this sphere, acknowledges Prosper: “We have made many gorgeous and sometimes crazy ‘special edition’ books, but one that always stands out in our memory is South Pole: The British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913. The oversized limited edition (only 150 were made) was the world’s first waterproof coffee-table book, signed by Monaco’s Prince Albert and Britain’s Princess Anne,” he explains.
He also cites Gold: The Impossible Collection a homage to the precious metal which bore a gold leaf-covered case and a clear sliding lid infused with gold flakes. “The tactile pleasure of holding a finely crafted book, the visual delight of its illustrations, the intellectual satisfaction of its content […] since the beginning we have created books that are treasures that reflect a lifestyle, and over the past 30 years we’ve continued to push the boundaries of what a book can be—whether waterproof or hand-sewn.” He continues: “We just released Rare Cars, which is handcrafted in sleek metal using the same techniques artisans use to build sculptures. It has an interior lined with hand-stitched Italian leather, and a hard cover fabricated and lightly scented with rubber, creating an immersive experience.”
But luxury, of course, is far from a static beast impermeable to changing cultural appetites. With the perception of prestige arguably in flux, how does Assouline intend to evolve?
Gold: The Impossible Collection special edition (2018).
Versailles: From Louis XIV to Jeff Koons special edition (2020) is the ultimate cultural eye candy.
According to the family, contemporary extravagance means having an eye on the future of luxury, not just a finger on its pulse. Some of the brand’s concepts lean into the value of sensory-and-beyond experiential delight, for example, it is not unheard of for Assouline publications to be accompanied by an access-based experience, presenting the books as a more-than-metaphorical portal to other worlds. Presented in a velvet clamshell, the hand-bound special edition Versailles: From Louis XIV to Jeff Koons featured a sculpted medallion of Louis XIV on the cover and came with a private palace tour of Versailles when it was released (with a run of just 100 and cover price of US$4900) in 2020.
Martine concurs: “Luxury has always been synonymous with quality, heritage and attention to detail, but over the last 30 years the essence of luxury has evolved from purely [material] possessions to encompass more profound experiences.”
Alexandre, too, talks up an at least partly post-product future: “This is exciting for Assouline as we continue to create new books with the intangible qualities luxury buyers are looking for, like the emotions our books evoke, the inspiration they provide, and the culture they preserve.”
Strategy aside, 1700-plus releases have brought a wealth of nostalgic affection for Prosper and Martine. Reflecting on the opening of their Manhattan HQ in 1999 (on the heels of the global success of Memoire de Mode), Martine defines the milestone as “the moment we became a true international brand”. Then there was the launch of the first Assouline retail space on the seventh floor of legendary New York department store Bergdorf Goodman in 2003. Martine recalls the moment’s significance: “We created the idea over a meeting with Ron Frasch, Bergdorf Goodman’s CEO at the time, who understood that our niche in the marketplace was having a clientele not typical of publishers, but more like [Bergdorf Goodman’s own] clients, with books perceived as objets d’arts in themselves.” The first standalone boutique in Saint-Germain-des-Près, Paris (2006), the very first Ultimate Collection hand-bound book (2009), the opening of Maison Assouline in London (2014) and the launch of Assouline’s Travel Series (2017) also receive honourable mentions from the pair, who live on the Upper East Side.
Alexandre Assouline. Image: Oliver Pilcher
Thirty-year old Alexandre joined the business in 2016, reimagining the vision once again via a pan-generational lens that has been invaluable to maintaining the brand’s currency: “It’s helpful to have multiple generations [providing] different perspectives on what’s most important in culture at the current moment,” he explains. “We push each other to do our very best work, and as a result stretch the limits of our creativity.”
Part of that creative ingenuity for Alexandre has been in engineering partnerships, transferring the brand’s DNA into collectables—an approach that has long borne fruit for the publisher.
In 2008, there was a limited-edition book trunk designed in collaboration with heritage French luggage brand Goyard. And few can forget the headlinestealing amber and saffron-scented ‘co-caine’ candle accompanying the 2018 book Cocaïn: History & Culture.
Part of that creative ingenuity for Alexandre has been in engineering partnerships, transferring the brand’s DNA into collectables—an approach that has long borne fruit for the publisher. In 2008, there was a limited-edition book trunk designed in collaboration with heritage French luggage brand Goyard. And few can forget the headlinestealing amber and saffron-scented ‘co-caine’ candle accompanying the 2018 book Cocaïn: History & Culture.
Next up, according to Alexandre, is a partnership with premium US audio brand Master & Dynamic, which will soon debut the Assouline Red MW75 active noise-cancelling wireless headphones. The headphones are billed as a companion to Assouline’s upcoming podcast, and the Spotify playlists developed for its Travel from Home candle collection. The company is also diving into interior design, turning a fledgling library design services arm (which sees the brand designing and creating custom libraries for private homes), into a standalone division. With stores also under Alexandre’s remit, a near-1000sqm Middle East flagship with integrated fine dining venue will open in Riyadh this October, plus smaller boutiques and pop-ups in destinations worldwide including Marrakech and Porto Cervo in Sardinia.
Despite a prolific publishing rate (60-70 books per year), Martine and Prosper are still very hands-on, affirming the books’ status as labours of familial love. Such is the passion behind their projects, Martine drew all of the cover motifs for the contemporary Travel Series. When probed on their personal favourites, Martine lists the recently released Ocean Wanderlust which traverses topics including submarines, mythology, exotic marine species and ocean-inspired fashion; “It has opened the series to another kind of travel, mixing history and reality with all the imagination that drove humans into these them.” And New York by New York, an odyssey through the history of the city’s boroughs that is another of the brand’s all-time bestsellers. “My darling baby is the Legends Collection. Its success pushed me to work on a volume inspired by Paris’ history, which is yet to come,” she divulges. Prosper reveals his pick to be Cecil Beaton: The Art of the Scrapbook, for which Martine trawled Beaton’s archive to find prints and clippings that would illuminate the scrapbook fanatic’s inner vision. Alexandre, meanwhile, lists the very first book he worked on, Valentino: At the Emperor’s Table written by late US Vogue editor André Leon Talley. These personal insights prove remarkably tender coming from a company that has sometimes been criticised for being more concerned with its books’ covers than with the quality of their contents.
With three decades in the business of books and diversification increasingly driving the brand, what, ultimately, does the Assouline family hope the impact of its portfolio will be? For Martine, it is about providing a means for internal transformation. “We hope our impact on culture has been one of inspiration; providing knowledge and beauty through our books, from which to learn and expand your horizons.”