Literary Luxury

The world’s first luxury brand dedicated to culture, Assouline is now turning a new page and entering the world of lifestyle and interiors.

- Catherine Belbin

Having produced hundreds of books dedicated to the very best of everything from Pop Art to Polo, Prosper and Martine Assouline have launched a bespoke interiors service wherein they will design a unique library for your book collection.

Born and raised in Morocco, Prosper Assouline relocated to Paris with his parents when he was just 16 years old. The son of hairstylists, he always had a passion for literature and books and – despite never studying beyond high school – went on to launch, with his wife Martine, a publishing company focusing on the culture of luxury. Over the past three decades they have together built a global business that has taken luxury publishing to a new level.

Recently, the couple were in Dubai for the launch of their exquisite fountain-facing Maison Assouline boutique and Swans Bar café, which is lined from floor to ceiling with their books, together with decorative artefacts that mirror the books’ topics. The warm and inviting space oozes luxury and features a carpet with the duo’s signature 18th-century Neoclassical-inspired typeface that was designed to evoke the Age of Enlightenment and is named after the legendary French publishing family, Didot.

Two long antique tables, complete with bronze uplighters and down-lighters that were originally in the British Museum Library in London, add gravitas to the inviting literary space.

The elegant Dubai store is inspired by the firm’s first so-called ‘concept store on culture’, located in London’s Piccadilly.

Speaking to identity inside the intimate library tucked away at the side of the boutique, Prosper and Martine spoke enthusiastically about the new service that they are offering to well-heeled and well-read clients who are keen to have custom built reading spaces. First launched a few years ago, the demand for Assouline’s customised libraries is growing steadily.