As Summer is in full swing, it may be time to choose our next book, or two, or three to while away the lazy afternoons by the pool or beach. Or perhaps you’re getting ahead & already planning your holiday shopping list…
We’ve got three new fashionable titles that will make stylish additions to any fashionista’s home library whether it could fill a wall or just a stack on a coffee table. These three titles have truly caught our eye & tickled our creative fancy…
Dior by John Galliano profiles the legendary house during the rebirth years of the house when John Galliano was at the creative helm. The period spans some 14 years from 1997 to 2011 during the time that Galliano himself was still defining his theatrical style while simultaneously breathing new life into a house that is arguably one of the most renowned houses to ever produce fashion. The book is laden with images of both process & runway, as well as anecdotes, critiques, & viewpoints from those within the hallowed walls of the house itself as well as those who observed from the outside. Be warned, though, this one is probably better read by the pool at home, as it weighs a whopping 10 pounds, has 448 pages & over 300 full color images, $195.00. Get your copy now at Assouline’s website.
American modernist designer Norma Kamali has penned her latest title whose title says it all, I Am Invincible. The legendary designer, who is still as vital today as she was when she was busy reinventing American sportswear, offers her readers a stylish, inspiring, & heartfelt handbook for gliding boldly through each of life’s decades with purpose & power. Part manifesto, part memoir this title is a 50 year look into Kamali’s twists, turns, triumphs, & failures experienced while finding the courage & conviction to race after her dreams & never look back.
Now, at 75, Kamali looks—& acts—nearly half her age. The secret, she writes, is learning to age with power: Embracing a healthy lifestyle & looking forward to every milestone & the changes they each bring, with the realization that reaching one’s potential has no date. With wisdom & wit, Kamali imparts her lessons on authentic beauty, timeless style, career-building, fitness, & health through personal stories, worldly insight, & actionable advice designed to help women of every age create their happiest, healthiest, most successful & fulfilling lives. 304 pages, paperback, $35.00. Get your copy now on Norma Kampala’s site.
Few artist resonate across the timelines of history the way Piet Mondrian has. His works, have inspired interiors, designers of several decades, graph designers, & architects in ways both literal & suggestive. Yet, whenever a Mondrian is in a room, it feels as if it could have been painted just yesterday. The artist’s life is profiled in the title that says exactly what the book is about, Piet Mondrian: a Life. Penned by Hans Janssen, the former chief curator at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, this title is the first full volume on the artists life to be printed in English. Janssen draws on his own research & that of a cohort of distinguished scholars, as well as previously unknown letters, writings & archival materials, to reveal unexpected new insights into the artist’s life and the circles in which Mondrian moved.
From his student days in Amsterdam to his life in Paris after the First World War, to his time in London & New York from 1938 until his death, Mondrian is here presented as someone in constant interaction with the world around him. Far from a lonely, isolated figure as he is often portrayed, he is revealed as an artist reacting to the emergence of modernity & taking the lead in shaping art for the world in which we now live. Translated into English in the 150th anniversary year of the artist’s birth, and already celebrated and anticipated in the New York Times, this is a vital contribution to the scholarship on Mondrian as well as on the development of abstract art. Whether you are a studied fan of Mondrian (1872–1944), or a casual observer of his work, you were likely exposed to his work in grade school like I was when we made construction paper cut outs to mimic his work as an exercise of caloric balance, you’ll find something to inspire in this volume. 464 pages with 60 prints, 30 color, 30 b/w, $50.00. Sadly, this volume will be out in mid-September, so you’ll have to save it for Fall or holiday. Get your copy now at Artbook.com.
