Photographer Jean-Vincent Simonet (b. 1991, Bourgoin-Jallieu, France) introduces a new photobook that captures the transforming world of Kitengela Glass, an artistic community in the south of Nairobi, Kenya. Founded in the early 1980s by German artist Nani Croze, Kitengela is a five-acre village crafted from recycled glass, embodying Croze’s vision of a creative utopia where art and nature intertwine.
Perhaps one of the most influential luxury shoe designers of our time, Christian Louboutin s signature high stilettos and lacquer-red soles have become true cultural staples and fashion must-haves. In this new volume the inimitable designer reveals the influences behind his shoes, drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of objects and artworks. A journey into nearly thirty years of footwear design and excellence, readers uncover Louboutin s vivid creative universe filled with Amazonian bird feathers, Kachina dolls, crosses, masks, crowns, and the shoes they inspired. A true look into the master s references, exquisite drawings and sketches of footwear juxtapose against artworks from international museum collections and some of the designer s cherished objects, which Louboutin personally selected in tandem with Olivier Gabet, the director of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Surrealist photographs of Louboutin s dazzling creations by Jean-Vincent Simonet bring electric, sensual style to the pages while a visceral dialogue between the designer and writer Eric Reinhardt runs through this veritable Wunderkammer of a book. Published on the occasion of the Christian Louboutin Exhibition show at the Palais de la Porte Doree in Paris (February 20 July 28, 2020), this exquisite piece of bookmaking offers a highly personal, vivid glimpse into the designer s life and genius.
