Words By Allegra Salvadori
It begins like a love story. A young woman from South America arrives in Paris: she is a lawyer, a model, and a striking presence with elegance to spare. He is a Morocco-born Frenchman, already making his mark in fashion and advertising, known for his artistic eye and, unusually for Paris, an irrepressible enthusiasm. Prosper meets Martine. First friends, then partners, then husband and wife, they would one day create a publishing house that would redefine how books live in our homes.
When they launched their Paris-based publishing house in 1994, Prosper came from the world of creative advertising—running his own agency for Chanel, Dior and Christie’s—while Martine was both a trained attorney and a publicist, having served as head of communication at Rochas. Their very first book, La Colombe d’Or, was born not of business strategy but of love. The Assoulines adored the Provençal hotel where Matisse and Picasso once stayed. Prosper took the photographs, Martine wrote the text. The owners, initially reluctant, changed their minds when they saw the layout: the soul of their hotel had been captured without voyeurism. Nearly three decades later, the book still sells.
What the Assoulines discovered then was simple yet transformative: the magic of publishing lay not only in content but in curation—choosing the right places, stories, and voices, and presenting them with elegance. One book became many. From the basement of their Paris apartment, with baby Alexandre upstairs, the couple began publishing volumes that celebrated the worlds they loved: Chanel, Dior, Capri, Marrakech, Picasso, Warhol. With graphically bold covers and irresistible subjects, each book became an objet d’art, a statement piece for the library table.“We wanted to create the first luxury brand on culture,” Martine explains.
Today, Assouline spans more than 1,700 titles and boutiques from New York to Seoul, London to Dubai. Yet the books are just one part of the story. The brand has grown into a lifestyle universe: scented candles, trunks designed with Goyard, quilted slipcases with Chanel, home décor, and even bespoke library services for residences and hotels. At Maison Assouline in London, a cocktail bar and cabinet of curiosities sit among towering bookshelves—an entire salon dedicated to the art of living.
For Prosper, inspiration was formed young, in the library of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where he spent countless hours training his eye. His influences range from Jean-Michel Frank to Azzedine Alaïa and Franca Sozzani. Martine, ever instinctive, compares creating a book to composing music: “I love to select the key images, the musical notes that will compose the book’s melody.” And together, they remain avid collectors—of art, objects, and encounters.
Artists such as Jean Oddes, whom Martine first discovered through Andrée Putman, find a place within Assouline’s world. Oddes’ work now hangs at Maison Assouline in Piccadilly, seamlessly integrated into the vision of a sophisticated contemporary library. “What he does is like nothing else,” Martine says, “as elegant as new.”
Now based in New York, with their son Alexandre in a leading role, the Assoulines continue to expand their vision. Alexandre has introduced furniture and interiors to complement the books, creating a total environment in which culture and design coalesce.
At heart, Assouline has always been more than a publisher. It is a way of life—an invitation into a world of taste, travel, and culture. Or, as Prosper puts it with characteristic simplicity: “Culture is the finest accessory.”
