Henri Matisse’s ancestors had been weavers for generations: textiles, a key to his visual imagination, were in his blood. Although he was to outgrow every other influence, textiles retained their power for him throughout his life. His studio in Nice was a treasure house of exotic Persian carpets, delicate Arab embroideries, richly hued African wall hangings, and any number of colorful cushions, curtains, costumes, patterned screens, and backcloths.

This sumptuously illustrated book, which accompanies a groundbreaking exhibition at the Musée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis; the Royal Academy of Arts, London; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, explores for the first time Matisse’s relationship with the textiles that surrounded him from his earliest days. Charting how the fabrics he painted became the very fabric of his painting, the authors examine the ways in which one of the greatest pioneers in modern art history used what he called his “working library” of textiles to furnish, order, and compose his extraordinary works of art. Available to Purchase Now from Amazon.com.

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Inspiring interiors that have a personal, handcrafted feel. This lavishly photographed interiors book shows how to leave behind design “rules” to create truly beautiful, original interiors. For more than twenty years, Kit Kemp has been at the forefront of the international design community, with her signature style that mixes contemporary elements with antiques and junk-shop finds, luxurious fabrics with printed wallpapers, and hand-finished detailing with collections of simple objects that create impact. She avoids taking design too seriously, playing with scale, color and pattern to create very personal, handcrafted spaces. Alongside the stunning images of room sets and detailed close-ups will be the inspiration behind Kit’s work and her tips for creating your own version of her style at home. Interiors are meant for living in, and the key is to create a space that is comfortable and beautiful and reflects who you really are. Available To Purchase From Amazon.com.

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The Yves Saint Laurent: Pret-A-Porter Coloring, Activity and Inspiration Book is a new print edition dedicated to the work of the legendary Parisian designer. Set to be released through Net-a-Porter.com in May 2013, the book follows in the footsteps of the previously popular YSL Colouring Book and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Colouring Book. 

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A gorgeous tribute to the legendary shoe and accessories designs of Roger Vivier. Master designer Roger Vivier elevated both the form and decoration of ladies’ shoes during his sixty-year career. His innate Parisian style embodied a sense of perfection and craftsmanship, and his work was coveted by style icons from Elsa Schiaparelli to Jackie Onassis. Described by Yves St. Laurent as bringing to his work a “level of charm, delicacy, refinement and poetry unsurpassed,” he created the first stiletto heel for a ready-to-wear shoe line with the house of Dior in 1955. His shoes are legendary, and the tradition of his innovative spirit continues with the revival of the house by current designer Bruno Frisoni, who has updated Vivier’s concepts, bringing his own touch to signature shapes and embellishments (including the buckle pump made famous by Catherine Deneuve in Belle du Jour). This lavish volume celebrates the history of the venerated house and charts the current evolution of the fantastic haute-couture designs that keep Roger Vivier at the top of every well-dressed woman’s list. With gorgeous new photography of the house’s collection of vintage shoes, beautifully rendered sketches, and details of the amazing accessories coming out of Roger Vivier today, this book is as chic as the shoes that fill its pages. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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Following her best-selling 2009 Assouline title, Gypset Style, travel writer Julia Chaplin explores the little-known enclaves of gypsy jet-setters around the world. From the Aeolian Islands in Italy to Lamu, Kenya; North Goa, India; and Jose Ignacio, Uruguay—Gypset Travel delves into the glamorous yet casual lifestyle of these bohemian wanderers through intimate photography and first-person anecdotes. Visit Amazon.com To Purchase Now.

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From humble origins, Kiki de Montparnasse became the muse of the most important artists of the Roaring Twenties. Many revolutionary artists of the early twentieth century flourished on Paris’s Left Bank, and Kiki, the Queen of Montparnasse, was the thread connecting them. Every image tells a fascinating story in this lavishly illustrated volume. Xavier Girard, former curator of the Matisse Museum, reveals the artistic, social, and historical events that created and surrounded the incredible artistic flowering of the mythical Montparnasse neighborhood after World War I. The volume is an oversize luxury edition in a slipcase. Available to Purchase on Amazon.com.

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WACU Girls is a book RDuJour discovered while reading a Spanish fashion blog earlier this week. The translations of reviews from Spanish to English have not been fully comprehensible however the book appears to be a guide to being a Worldly, Cool, Ambitious and Unique woman, as the cover reads, penned by the glamorous Fiona Ferrer Leoni, a blogger for Hola! magazine. The book is available to purchase on Amazon which non-Spanish speakers might want to do anyway because the cover is so cute . Visit Amazon.com to Purchase Now.

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A comedy of manners that serves as an insightful look at the lives of those in the upper classes. After two sisters, Laure and Marie, learn of their parents’ plan to sell the family’s summer retreat, L’Agapanthe, they devise a scheme for attracting a wealthy suitor who can afford to purchase the estate. Selling it would mean more than just losing a place to go during the summer—for the sisters, it’s become a necessary part of their character, their lifestyle, and their past.

L’Agapanthe, a place of charm and nostalgia, is the perfect venue to exercise proper etiquette and intellect, though not all its visitors are socially savvy, especially when it’s a matter of understanding the relationships between old money and the nouveau riche. The comedy of manners begins: with stock traders, yogis, fashion designers, models, swindlers, the Mafia, and a number of celebrity guests.

Laure—the witty, disarming, and poignant narrator—guides the reader through elegant dinners, midnight swims in the bay, and conversations about current events, literature, art, and cinema. The Suitors is an amusing insider’s look at the codes, manners, and morals of French high society. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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This stylishly illustrated guide parses the visual vocabulary to understand, investigate, and interpret seminal fashions and styles. The perfect companion for fashionistas and anyone interested in a better understanding of how fashions and styles evolve, this is the first book of its kind aimed at a general audience. Both dip-in reference and stylish resource, it covers 200 years of fashion history, as well as ancillary subjects such as jewelry, accessories, and hairstyling, showing how different looks and styles are interconnected through time. Fashion is defined by the newest and very latest, yet fashion designers are constantly taking inspiration from the past. Well-known classics of yesteryear as well as more obscure designs and styles from the deeper past are constantly recycled and reinvented by the latest generation of designers and stylists. Identified in this handy volume are all the main fashion trends of the past 200 years, as well as how they relate to contemporary styles. From Neo-Classical to Gothic, Streamline Modernism to Punk, Military, and Designer Branding, this is perfect for anyone who has ever wondered about the origins of the little black dress or why the Chanel bag is known as the 2:55 bag. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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Lapo Elkann, Agnelli heir and founder of the Italian Independent brand, has published his first book, Lapo. Le regole del mio stile (roughly: The Rules of My Style). Launched earlier this month with a signing in Rome, the book offers Elkann’s advice and philosophies on the subject. In addition to the 192 print pages, interactive material for the iPhone accompanies the book, which has an English version in negotiation. Available to Purchase Now from Amazon.com.

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This volume is the first to explore fashion as a critical aspect of modernity, one that paralleled and many times converged with the development of Impressionism, starting in the 1860s and continuing through the next two decades, when fashion attracted the foremost writers and artists of the day. Although they have depicted fashionable subjects throughout history, for many artists and writers, including Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Émile Zola, Gustave Caillebotte, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, fashion became integral to the search for new literary and visual expression. In a series of essays that examine fashion and its social, cultural, and artistic context during some of the most important years of the Impressionist era—years that also gave birth to the modern fashion industry—a group of fifteen scholars, drawn from five interdisciplinary fields, examine approximately 140 Impressionist-era artworks, including those by dedicated fashion portraitists, in light of the rise of the department store, new working methods for designing clothing, and new social and technological changes that led to the democratization of fashion and, simultaneously, its ascendance as a vehicle for modernity. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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Ines de la Fressange, Roger Vivier Brand Ambassador and Bruno Frisoni, Creative Director, hosted a cocktail party at the Roger Vivier Boutique on 29 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré to celebrate the exclusive prelaunch of Roger Vivier book, published by Rizzoli in the presence of the book’s authors and contributors. The raison d’être for the book was to discover the evolution of Roger Vivier from an iconic and inspirational shoe brand to a sophisticated, contemporary Parisian, luxury accessories Maison with an International reach.

Upon arrival, guests (who included the likes of Catherine Deneuve, Jessica Stam, Stella Tennant and Vincent Dare) were greeted by gorgeous oversize white paper roses that adorned the façade of the Maison. Inside, the furniture disappeared underneath white paper, and whimsical white paper roses were suspended to complement the dreamy décor. A life-size Roger Vivier “pop-up” book revealed the iconic signature pieces of the Maison that magically appeared to float between the white pages. The book will be available from April 2nd in the Roger Vivier boutiques and in fine bookstores.

Continue reading to view additional images from the event.

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Timeless Icon, the new Tod’s sponsored book of photographs about Princess Diana (illustrated in the below post), was launched last week during Milan’s fashion week. The cocktail reception was held at the PAC (Museum of Contemporary Art) and guests included the likes of Tod’s CEO Diego Della Valle, the brand’s new head womenswear designer Alessandra Facchinetti, Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani, fashion designer Marta Ferri, stylist Martha Ward, jewellery designer Noor Fares, model Filippa Lagerback and more. Continue reading to view additional images from the event.

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[images courtesy of Tod's]

Tod’s is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Timeless Icon, a new photographic book charting the extraordinary life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Exclusively for the occasion and in order to celebrate the D Bag, for SS13 Tod’s is launching the D.D. Bag, the evolution of the brand’s iconic style.

Timeless Icon has been conceived by Florentine publishing house Electa with the editorial direction of Carlo Mazzoni and will celebrate Lady Diana, her humanity and unique personal style. Tod’s values are all to do with elegance and timeless good taste, and because of this it seemed appropriate to endorse this visual commemoration of an icon who so effortlessly, epitomised those qualities.

Timeless Icon has been launched during Milan’s fashion week with a cocktail exhibition on Saturday, February 23rd 2013, at the PAC (Museum of Contemporary Art). The book will be distributed worldwide starting from March 2013. Part of the sales will be devolved to Clic Sargent, leading charity organization supporting children and young people with cancer and their families.

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[images courtesy of Tod's]

An intimate exploration of inspiration and creativity, from the “parfumeur exclusif” of the house of Hermès. A scent has incantatory powers, capable of transporting you to your past, of kindling fantasies, of creating a vivid mise en scène—literally out of thin air. In the hands of the truly great, perfume creation is a kind of alchemy. Where does inspiration for this visceral art come from? How does one capture the essence of emotions, of desire? Jean-Claude Ellena has a sublime gift. As “parfumeur exclusif” (or “the nose”) for Hermès, he elevates fragrance to an art form. A “writer of perfume,” his concoctions are as finely composed and evocative as a haiku. He is also a conjurer of sorts: “I create an illusion that is actually stronger than reality . . . you enter the scent and follow the path.” The Diary of a Nose is a collection of Ellena’s meditations on the world of scents, and what stirs his creation of some of the world’s most desired fragrances. Inspiration can come from anywhere—a market stall, a landscape, or even the movement of calligraphy. Though each smell has its own distinct character, a gifted perfumer creates olfactory experiences that are intensely personal and unique, that blossom on the body and leave a trace of us lingering after we have left a room.Seductive, delicate, and elegant as any of Ellena’s creations, The Diary of a Nose seeks to capture the most elusive facets of this rarefied and mysterious art. Available to Purchase Now from Amazon.com.

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Piet Barol has an instinctive appreciation for pleasure and a gift for finding it. When his mother dies, Piet applies for a job as tutor to the troubled son of Europe’s leading hotelier—a child who refuses to leave his family’s mansion on one of Amsterdam’s grandest canals. As Piet enters this glittering world, he learns its secrets and finds his life transformed. A brilliantly written portrait of the senses, History of a Pleasure Seeker is an opulent, romantic coming-of-age drama set at the height of Europe’s Belle Époque, written with a lightness of touch that is wholly modern and original. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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In this magnificent collection of the most spectacular jewels of the twentieth century, fine jewelry historian Vivienne Becker selects the quintessential bijoux that represent the milestones of jewelry design of the last one hundred years. From Art Nouveau to the brink of the new millennium, Becker’s selections range from the Wiener Werkstätte and Tiffany Studios, Egyptian-inspired Art Deco masterpieces by Cartier and midcentury designs by Verdura for Chanel, exquisite creations by DeBeers, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Graff, to modern designs from a new generation of innovative artists. A new addition to Assouline’s Ultimate Collection, this beautiful volume is a must-have for fine jewelry collectors and lovers of precious objects. Sparkling with stunning photography, this hand-bound luxury edition features hand-tipped images and is presented in a linen clamshell case. Available to Purchase From Amazon.com.

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An internationally acclaimed interior design sensation, Miles Redd is known for his quirky brand of cozy glamour. This lavishly illustrated volume features a diverse selection of his unique interiors, an inspiration to anyone interested in spirited, eclectic design. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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The celebrated designer’s latest book, devoted to gleaning design inspiration from the personal scrapbooks and notebooks of great women of style—including her own. Interior designer Charlotte Moss has spent years collecting as well as creating scrapbooks—a pastime both meditative and instructive about her own ideas regarding design and style. In this unique book, Moss brings together her own scrapbooks along with those of notable women, both contemporary and historical, whose flair for style inspires us, including interior designer Elsie de Wolfe and society doyenne Gloria Vanderbilt—all never before published. Organized by theme—home, garden, travel, entertaining, and fashion—each chapter includes examples of Moss’s signature style mingled with excerpts from the scrapbooks of these great women. From the ambassador’s wife and bon vivant Evangeline Bruce, we learn that she preferred accessorizing tabletops with simple florets of broccoli in biscuit tins. And from the iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, we see her notes and menus from the legendary White House dinners she threw. One piece (among many) of sage advice includes perfecting one extraordinary meal and serving it again and again, rather than experimenting endlessly. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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Cheerful Weather for The Wedding is a 1930s novel written by Julia Strachey, recently turned into a feature film starring Felicity Jones as the lead heroine, Dolly. About the book: The author was a niece of Lytton Strachey and was well-known in Bloomsbury circles; she was the subject of Julia, a memoir in her own words by Frances Partridge, who wrote a new Preface for our edition. This sardonic and beautifully written novella about a family in Forster territory was first published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press in 1932. ‘As delightful and perceptive today as it no doubt was seventy years ago: on her wedding day a girl knows she is about to make a serious mistake’ (the Bookseller); ‘a brilliant, bittersweet upstairs-downstairs comedy’ wrote Shena Mackay in the Guardian. Order The Book Now on Amazon.com.

Purchase / Rent the Film on Amazon.com or Head to iTunes to Download Now

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For more than twenty years, acclaimed author Edward St. Aubyn has chronicled the life of Patrick Melrose, painting an extraordinary portrait of the beleaguered and self-loathing world of privilege. This single volume collects the first four novels—Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother’s Milk, a Man Booker finalist—to coincide with the publication of At Last, the final installment of this unique novel cycle.

By turns harrowing and hilarious, these beautifully written novels dissect the English upper class as we follow Patrick Melrose’s story from child abuse to heroin addiction and recovery. Never Mind, the first novel, unfolds over a day and an evening at the family’s chateaux in the south of France, where the sadistic and terrifying figure of David Melrose dominates the lives of his five-year-old son, Patrick, and his rich and unhappy American mother, Eleanor. From abuse to addiction, the second novel, Bad News opens as the twenty-two-year-old Patrick sets off to collect his father’s ashes from New York, where he will spend a drug-crazed twenty-four hours. And back in England, the third novel, Some Hope, offers a sober and clean Patrick the possibility of recovery. The fourth novel, the Booker-shortlisted Mother’s Milk, returns to the family chateau, where Patrick, now married and a father himself, struggles with child rearing, adultery, his mother’s desire for assisted suicide, and the loss of the family home to a New Age foundation.

Edward St. Aubyn offers a window into a world of utter decadence, amorality, greed, snobbery, and cruelty—welcome to the declining British aristocracy. Available to Order Now from Amazon.com.

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Earlier in the summer Vogue announced the publication of their series of designer biographies. The Vogue On Designers  series now includes titles examining the life and work of luminaries such as Alexander McQueen, Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, all penned by some of the most prominent journalist and historians such as Judith Watt and Bronwyn Cosgrave. Available to Purchase on Amazon.com Now.

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In 2008 Penguin Books redesigned the covers of all Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels with these retro covers by illustrator Michael Gillette. The project came about in celebration of the centenary of Fleming’s birth and the prints are now considered collector’s items. Love how silly 60s they are!

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In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye, coinciding with the 120th anniversary of Vogue, debuts Thursday, December 6 exclusively on HBO.  The documentary film takes a look at some of the world’s most influential fashion images as conceived by the magazine’s iconic fashion editors.

“The people who are responsible for the fashion images are the fashion editors,” says Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue. “They have always been our secret weapon, so it seemed to me that we could celebrate Vogue, and also, at the same time, celebrate these great editors.”

“The exquisite and detailed inspiration that goes into a fashion editor’s staging of a photograph was a surprise to us,” comments Sheila Nevins, president, HBO Documentary Films. “The images found in the pages of Vogue exist as true works of art and the editors themselves are gifted, yet often unassuming, artists.”

Drawing on Vogue’s exceptional archives, the film features behind-the-scenes interviews with editors who have contributed to the magazine’s legacy, including current editor-in-chief Anna Wintour; fashion editors such as Grace Coddington, Tonne Goodman, Polly Allen Mellen, Camilla Nickerson, Phyllis Posnick and Babs Simpson; celebrated Vogue subjects Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jessica Parker; industry icons such as Hamish Bowles; and fashion designers Alber Elbaz, Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs and Vera Wang (herself a former Vogue fashion editor), all of whom share their experiences collaborating with top photographers and image-makers of the day.

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Vogue: The Editor’s Eye celebrates the pivotal role the fashion editor has played in shaping America’s sense of style since the magazine’s launch 120 years ago. Drawing onVogue’s exceptional archive, this book focuses on the work of eight of the magazine’s legendary fashion editors (including Polly Mellen, Babs Simpson, and Grace Coddington) who collaborated with photographers, stylists, and designers to create the images that have had an indelible impact on the fashion world and beyond. Featuring the work of world-renowned photographers such as Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, and Annie Leibovitz and model/muses, including Marilyn Monroe, Verushka, and Linda Evangelista, The Editor’s Eye is a lavishly illustrated look at the visionary editors whose works continue to reverberate in the culture today. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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]]> http://rdujour.com/2012/11/19/vogue-the-editors-eye/feed/ 0 http://rdujour.com/2012/11/08/pop-life-art-in-a-material-world/ http://rdujour.com/2012/11/08/pop-life-art-in-a-material-world/#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2012 01:54:47 +0000 rdujour http://rdujour.com/?p=79620

Provocative and entertaining, Pop Life examines how artists since the 1980s have cultivated their public persona as a product, and conjured a dazzling mix of media, commerce, and glamour to build their own “brands.” Beginning with the grandfather of Pop, Andy Warhol, who manufactured mass-produced wares in The Factory in the 1960s, the book explores Jeff Koons’ infamous Made in Heaven series—showcasing his marriage and sexual relations with Italian porn-star and latter-day politician Illona Staller (aka La Cicciolina)—and his stainless steel Rabbit sculpture; an iconic array of golden spot and butterfly paintings from Damien Hirst’s recordbreaking 2008 auction; and a reconstruction of Keith Haring’s Pop Shop in New York. Takashi Murakami’s designs for Louis Vuitton are also included, along with works by Richard Prince, Martin Kippenberger, Tracey Emin, and many more. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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n this magnificent collection of the most iconic dresses of the twentieth century, Valerie Steele flexes her curatorial muscle. From Poiret to Pucci, Doucet to Dior, Vionnet to Valentino, she selects the 100 dresses that caused a stir on the runway or as they entered a room and ultimately inspired a new direction in fashion. Steele’s selections include Fortuny’s streamlined Delphos gown circa 1907, Madame Grès’s sublimely draped goddess creations from 1938, Issey Miyake’s 1982 evening ensemble with a rattan top that appeared on the cover of ArtForum, and Hussein Chalayan’s awe-inspiring table skirt from 2000. The collection, while certainly subjective, is sure to receive nods of recognition, along with a gasp (or two) of surprise. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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The inimitable Nancy Mitford’s account of Voltaire’s fifteen-year relationship with the Marquise du Châtelet—the renowned mathematician who introduced Isaac Newton’s revolutionary new physics to France—is a spirited romp in the company of two extraordinary individuals as well as an erudite and gossipy guide to French high society during the Enlightenment. Mitford’s story is as delicious as it is complicated. The marquise was in love with another mathematician, Maupertuis, while she had an unexpected rival for Voltaire’s affections in the future Frederick the Great of Prussia (and later in the philosophe’s own niece). There was, at least, no jealous husband to contend with: the Marquis du Châtelet, Mitford assures us, behaved perfectly. The beau monde of Paris was, however, distraught at the idea of the lovers’ brilliant conversation going to waste on the windswept hills of Champagne, site of the Château de Cirey, where experimental laboratories, a darkroom, and a library of more than twenty-one thousand volumes enabled them to pursue their amours philosophiques. From time to time the threat of impending arrest would send Voltaire scurrying across the border into Holland, but his irrepressible charm—and the interventions of powerful friends—always made it possible for him resume his studies with the cherished marquise. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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After a hiatus of more than half a century the legendary French art publication Cahiers d’Art revue is being reborn. The first re-issue publication (above)  is a celebration of the revue’s greatest artists and is a seamless continuation of the original revue, founded in 1926 by Christian Zervos.

“Issue No. 1, the first issue of the revue in over fifty years, is a celebration of one of our greatest artists, Ellsworth Kelly. The Cahiers d’Art revue has always been at the heart of Cahiers d’Art, and the re-launch of the revue in 2012 resurrects this tradition. Issue No. 1 includes an original lithograph by Ellsworth Kelly, the artwork of Sarah Morris, Cyprien Gaillard and Adrián Villar Rojas, as well as texts by Yve-Alain Bois, Tadao Ando and Jean-Louis Cohen.” See CahiersdArt.fr for additional information.

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Love this new portrait of novelist Danielle Steel taken by Brigitte Lacombe for the jacket of Steel’s latest book The Sins of the Mother. The book goes on sale later this month and is available for Pre-Order on Amazon.com now.

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In this delicious, practical and efficient guidebook Pat Montandon – queen of California’s jet set – tells every party giver how to become a great hostess and give unforgettable parties. ESQUIRE magazine chose Pat as one of the nineteen best hostesses in the United States. It is Pat Montandon’s conviction that, “…Anyone, regardless of circumstances (i.e. income), can be an outstanding hostess and party giver. Self-confidence gained by being a good hostess can create a completely new world, especially for the unmarried girl who may want to enlarge her circle of friends and therefore her opportunities to meet the right man – also important for the married woman who wants to be something other than just a housewife.” Available to Purchase From Amazon.com.

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Tim Walker: Story Teller is an exhibition of the iconic British photographer’s work, which opened at Somerset House in London yesterday. This book is the companion to the show, which runs until 27 January 2013. See SomersetHouse.org.uk for additional information.

About the book: Tim Walker is one of the most visually exciting photographers of our time. This book showcases many of his most dazzling images his daydreams turned into photographs, dating from around the last seven years of his career. Some of the biggest names in fashion and contemporary culture are here: Alber Elbaz sporting a pair of rabbit ears; Agyness Deyn in the sand dunes of Namibia; Alexander McQueen and a memento mori of skull and cigarettes; Helena Bonham Carter poised with Ray-Bans and a Diet Coke; Stella Tennant in a pink cloud among the rhododendrons of an English country garden The singer and musician Kate Bush contributes a foreword and Walker himself an afterword, as well as illuminating his pictures throughout with personal observations. This exceptional and beautifully designed overview of a career caught in mid-flow reveals just how much one mans singular vision has influenced contemporary tastes in fashion, beauty, glamour and portraiture. Visit Amazon.com to Purchase Now.

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This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve. With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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The enchanting story of a midwestern girl who escapes a family tragedy and is remade as a movie star during Hollywood’s golden age. In 1920, Elsa Emerson, the youngest and blondest of three sisters, is born in idyllic Door County, Wisconsin. Her family owns the Cherry County Playhouse, and more than anything, Elsa relishes appearing onstage, where she soaks up the approval of her father and the embrace of the audience. But when tragedy strikes her family, her acting becomes more than a child¹s game of pretend.

While still in her teens, Elsa marries and flees to Los Angeles. There she is discovered by Irving Green, one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood, who refashions her as a serious, exotic brunette and renames her Laura Lamont. Irving becomes Laura’s great love; she becomes an Academy Award -winning actress—and a genuine movie star. Laura experiences all the glamour and extravagance of the heady pinnacle of stardom in the studio-system era, but ultimately her story is a timeless one of a woman trying to balance career, family, and personal happiness, all while remaining true to herself.

Ambitious and richly imagined, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures is as intimate—and as bigger-than-life—as the great films of the golden age of Hollywood. Written with warmth and verve, it confirms Emma Straub’s reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in fiction. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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The glamorous interior designer Ann Getty throws open the doors to her stunning and treasure filled California home for the October 2012 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Filled with magical pieces like chandeliers thought to have once been owned by Josephine Bonaparte and others by the fashion icon Daisy Fellows as well as paintings by Degas, Pissaro, Cassett and more, the home can be seen in more detail in Getty’s new book Ann Getty: Interior Style published by Rizzoli later this year. Continue reading to view additional images.

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In the summer of 2005 Steidl published a small booklet of Juergen Teller’s work, titled ‘The Master’. It offered a characteristic examination of his own world and persona as a photographer, a mixture of fashion and commissioned works, alongside self-portraits, family photographs and scenes from his Bavarian home. The title and starting point for the book were portraits of two of his heroes, the photographers William Eggleston and Nobuyoshi Araki. The book quickly went out of print and a second edition of the ‘The Master’ will now be printed alongside ‘The Master II’, marking the beginning of a series of booklets that will culminate in a slip-cased edition of all ten or more at some point in the future. ‘The Master II’ comprises his recent body of work ‘Ukraine’ in which he chose to employ the city of Kiev as the setting for a fashion shoot, mixing fashion, still-lives of the city, and portraits of ordinary people as a way of representing his own fantasy of a country marked by a brash youthful energy and an obsession with capitalism. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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Cecil Beaton was a man of dazzling charm and style, and his talents were many. At the age of twenty he sent Vogue an out-of focus snap of a college play, and for the next half-century and more he kept readers of the magazine up to date on all the various activities of his career. Condé Nast, the owner of Vogue, convinced Beaton to abandon his pocket Kodak, and his resulting photographic work earned him a place among the great chroniclers of fashion. Witty and inventive, he also designed settings for plays and films—and for himself—and as a writer he was an eloquent champion of stylish living. This book includes articles, drawings, and photographs by Beaton dating from the 1920s to the 1970s. Beaton loved Vogue, and his contributions testify to the wit, imagination, and professionalism that he and the magazine always had in common. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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The man behind some of the most avant-garde hairdos and head dresses worn by Lady Gaga, Recine has taken hair styling to incredibly creative heights-often literally, as he propels the braids and locks of his subjects into gravity-defying contours, augmenting them with sculptural gestures such as clumps of headphones or sunglasses, tendrils of Play-Doh and complex meshes of wire or cellophane. Starting out as an artist, Recine secured a project creating hairstyles and head ornaments for the windows of Henri Bendel. His designs caught the eye of world-renowned hair stylist Jean Louis David, who offered him the opportunity to travel to Paris and hone his craft; four years later, Recine returned to New York, armed with a portfolio of innovative stylings for top photographers and magazines. Today Recine is a legend among A-list celebrities, having worked with Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Hudson, Renée Zellweger, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman and Tilda Swinton. His talents have even returned him circuitously to the world of fine art, for his extensive collaborations with Vanessa Beecroft. Alchemy of Beauty gathers original artwork by Recine, from sketches, collages and paintings to previously published and unpublished editorial images of his extraordinary sculpture and headdresses. Art direction for the volume is by Fabien Baron. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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Stylists are some of the most influential people working within the fashion industry, responsible for the final shape of many exciting works in popular culture. Still unsung heroes, they are now becoming increasingly more well known in their own right, alongside the photographers, art directors, and magazine editors of the industry. Featuring stunning imagery and entertaining interviews with some of the biggest names in the field, including Lady Gaga’s stylist Nicola Formichetti, Marc Jacobs’ collaborator Katie Grand, and Melanie Ward of Harper’s Bazaar, this is an essential book for any aspiring stylist or fashion student. Available to Purchase from Amazon.com.

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A private library, a personal library, is in the mind of Kurt Thometz “an act of style”. Since 1980 New York based Thometz has provided curatorial services to book collectors including sourcing, arranging, cataloguing, conserving and establishing databases as well as appraising and conducting bibliographic research for the collections of private individuals. Some of his clients have included Diana Vreeland, Diane von Furstenberg, Fran Lebowitz, Calvin Klein, Leonard Lauder, Diane Sawyer and many more notable individuals and families. See The-Private-Library.com for additional information.

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