Women in Books
Celebrate International Women’s Day through the words of a variety of talented and fascinating women! From fashion, jewellery, interior design, history, to the beauty of motherhood – Assouline Publishing has highlighted some of the most influential women of our time through its publications.
Vital Voices: 100 Women Using Their Power To Empower
Vital Voices: 100 Women Using Their Power to Empower is an unprecedented book and companion art exhibition celebrating 100 global women leaders who are redefining power. Edited by Alyse Nelson, with a foreword by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman and paintings by Gayle Kabaker, the book and exhibition feature a selection of original portraits, accompanied by thought-provoking excerpts of first-person narratives from some of the most influential and insightful women in the world, including: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, Bozoma Saint John, Jacinda Ardern, Donna Langley, Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju, Joy Buolamwini, Megan Rapinoe and so many more. Candid and compelling, each leader shares personal stories, wisdom and ideas, showing us that women lead differently and that this difference is sorely needed in our world today.
While each woman is path-breaking in her own right, it’s together that these 100 voices illustrate the transformative power of women’s leadership across cultures, sectors and generations.
2020 has laid bare the critical value of leadership at every level; from heads of state to community healthcare workers and racial justice activists, we have witnessed remarkable courage and compassion in the face of historic challenge. Global crises have shown us that the solutions we seek already exist, so often being championed by women leaders like those featured in this book.
Chanel: The Impossible Collection
More than any other designer of her era, Gabrielle Chanel had the ability to predict the evolution of contemporary fashion. Self-inventor extraordinaire, Chanel revolutionised the lifestyle of her time by inventing a modern concept of luxe minimalism, elevating humble fabrics such as jersey and tweed to couture status, giving birth to a new silhouette both sophisticated and discreet, setting her stamp on the twentieth century with her modern spirit of understated luxury.
The house of Chanel represents modern fashion. Under its founder, the style of the modern woman was invented, through the image of Gabrielle Chanel herself. She dressed women to be free, and her emancipated clothes reflected the shifting landscape of society. Her designs fundamentally affected what we wear, and how we wear it. The work of the house under her successor Karl Lagerfeld has transformed fashion anew: He drew the template for a fashion designer reviving a moribund house with elements from its own history. Just as Chanel created modern fashion, Lagerfeld in turn established the blueprint of the modern fashion house. She reshaped the clothes women wear, he reshaped the industry that makes them.
This book is a literary museum exhibition, a curated selection of 100 iconic and signature looks of the house of Chanel, from the timeless Little Black Dress to the impeccably simple tweed suit, the apothecary-style perfume bottle, two- tone pumps, abundant strands of faux pearls and stones, and diamond-quilted leather handbag, from Mademoiselle’s revolutionary designs to Karl Lagerfeld’s unexpected and even irreverent variations on her original codes.
Selected by fashion journalist Alexander Fury, Chanel: The Impossible Collection showcases the best images from the world’s foremost editorial photographers, specialist museums, and private collections, including rarely seen archival photos, this handcrafted Ultimate Collection volume is the quintessential compendium for fashion aficionados.
Lisa Perry – Fashion, Home and Design
Lisa Perry, known for her 60s-inspired collection of clothing and accessories reminiscent of Courrèges and Cardin, is now showcasing her long-time passion: the home. Her love for design is infectious and this tour through her personally curated spaces instantly sparks joy. Each property displayed is a bold composition of artwork, furniture, lighting, and creative flourishes. Lisa never foregoes a chance to place pops of colour and her spaces come alive with the whimsical art of Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, and furniture by designer, Pierre Paulin. Lisa Perry: Fashion • Homes • Design, explores the personal residences, creative spaces, and grand escapes including Lisa’s Manhattan penthouse, SoHo design studio, and homes in the Hamptons, Palm Beach, and Villefranche-sur-Mer. Realising her hidden expertise for interior design, Ms. Perry is currently in the business of buying, renovating and selling homes branded with her signature style. Written and photographed by Robyn Lea, with a foreword by Hillary Clinton and introduction by Lisa Perry.
Lisa Perry is a New York City-based designer. At the age of 21, Lisa left her home in the suburbs of Chicago to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Her love of fashion and textiles led Lisa to an extensive collection of vintage couture clothing from the late 1960s. At the encouragement of close friends, Lisa started her eponymous womenswear collection in 2007 to reflect the iconic spirit of that time period. Over the years Lisa has collaborated with the estates and studios of Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, and others, to create acclaimed limited-edition collections. Lisa Perry is sold exclusively at Barneys New York stores nationwide.
Georgia O’Keeffe chose New Mexico as the vibrant backdrop for the second half of her boundlessly creative life. She purchased homes in Ghost Ranch and Abiquiú, designing and refinishing them with special emphasis on the kitchen and garden spaces that would prove to be integral to her artistic process. She revelled in being able to forage for and gather the wild ingredients in the high desert landscape that surrounded her. For O’Keeffe, food was elevated to an art form, both as a frequent subject in her work, and in its preparation and consumption. It was a conduit to her beloved Irish and Hungarian heritage, as well as a culinary memoir of her childhood on the family farm in Wisconsin. Food was also used as the primary tool in the artist’s life to promote health and well-being.
Featuring recipes collected from O’Keeffe’s preferred cookbooks with her handwritten notes, and prepared for her by cooks and caretakers including Christine Taylor Patten and Margaret Wood, Dinner with Georgia O’Keeffe balances the fresh local and traditional ingredients the artist sought and the New Mexican landscape and culture that constantly influenced both her art and sense of self. Through Georgia’s personal letters and interviews with friends and staff members, Robyn Lea explores the artist’s relationship to food via art and nature, capturing photographs of the recipes and scenic views that celebrate this beautiful connection.
From soups and main courses to vegetable dishes and breads to sweet treats and drinks, fifty of O’Keeffe’s favourites are presented here, including Brightest Borscht with Sour Cream & Fresh Dill, Christine’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, Hungarian- Style Chicken Paprika, Marinated Green Chile with Breakfast Eggs, Tortas de Huevos Tradicionales, Yogurt-Cucumber Dressing, Tiger’s Milk, and Isadoras.
Punctuated by O’Keeffe’s artworks and archival images of her years in New Mexico, this volume also includes a preface by Christine Taylor Patten, one of the artist’s caretakers in her later life. Dinner with Georgia O’Keeffe is a singular portrait of the artist and a unique taste of the American Southwest.
In the latest body of work by author and photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank, the artist set out to explore what modern motherhood means in the 21st century. Turning her lens on 70 iconic families of mothers and children from such celebrated names as Delfina Figueras, Carolina Herrera, Lauren Santo Domingo, Anne Vyalitsyna, Aerin Lauder, and Patti Hansen, Swanson Frank’s stunning portraits capture the emotional bonds and beauty that frame the primal relationship of a mother and her child. Complementing her work is a series of questions-and-answers, in which Swanson Frank delicately tasks each mother to look within themselves and express what being a mother truly means to them. Their answers, while exceedingly thoughtful and introspective, are also amusing, fascinating, and moving. Each one of these deeply intimate and stunning portraits will captivate and inspire readers as they embark on this profound journey that reminds us all of the power of motherhood and the great gift of love.
Photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank was raised in San Francisco, California. Claiborne moved to New York in 2007 and worked at Vogue under Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, leaving the magazine in 2009 before pursuing a career in photography. In 2010, Claiborne began her first body of work, a collection of portraits of women in her life, which served as inspiration for her best-selling debut book, American Beauty, published in the spring of 2012. Soon after its release, Swanson moved to Los Angeles and began working on Young Hollywood, her second book of portraits, released in the Fall 2014. In tandem with the creation of her books, Claiborne collaborates with American and European fashion brands, and most recently worked with Clé de Peau Beauté as she photographed her book, Mother and Child. Claiborne also contributes to various editorial publications.
The art of fine jewellery is part of Silvia Furmanovich’s DNA. A Brazil native born into a family of goldsmiths, she is a visionary jeweller who pushes the boundaries of adornment through unconventional combinations of precious stones, natural materials, and traditional craftsmanship. With an artist’s eye and an explorer’s heart, Furmanovich travels the world in search of inspiration and translates her findings into pieces that evoke their source and convey a unique sense of style all at once. To experience her work is to be transported through time and space—from the Amazon rainforest to the ateliers of Renaissance Italy and the extravagant courts of the Mughal Empire. Deeply inspired by the natural world and the history of ornamentation, Furmanovich’s singular approach to fine jewelry design has dazzled connoisseurs for years, and her one- of-a-kind creations have been honored with awards and sought by discerning collectors around the world.
This beautifully illustrated monograph provides the first in-depth look at Furmanovich’s expansive oeuvre, highlighting the intricate beauty of her work alongside the worldly wonders and craft traditions that have inspired them. Here are stories about the craftsmen that have helped bring some of Furmanovich’s most magnificent pieces to life: Master miniature painters in India; Native American women who practice intricate beading; and a Brazilian artisan who has preserved the ancient art of wood marquetry in his small Amazonian community. Pairing Furmanovich’s intricate creations with beautiful art historical references, Silvia Furmanovich: Nature, Art and Adornment will inspire jewellery connoisseurs, art aficionados, and anyone with a creative spirit.
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