Martine Assouline is the co‑founder and editorial force behind Assouline, the pioneering “luxury brand on culture,” and has spent three decades refining a distinctive visual and narrative language for books about fashion, art, design, and travel. Born in Côte d’Ivoire and raised in Peru before moving to Europe, she studied interior design in Switzerland and law in France, giving her an uncommon mix of aesthetic training and analytical rigor that underpins her editorial judgment and attention to detail.
Early work as a fashion model and later as a communications executive for leading houses such as Rochas and Louis Vuitton gave her intimate fluency in the codes of luxury and in how to frame visual products within compelling brand stories, a skill she later translated directly into publishing.
In 1994, together with her husband, Prosper, she launched Assouline in Paris with a first book on the art‑filled hotel La Colombe d’Or, for which he shot the photographs and she wrote the text, establishing the blueprint for their partnership: his visual direction and her editorial and narrative lead.
From the beginning, her strength lay in insisting that each book function as both an object of desire and a vessel of culture—highly tactile, graphically bold, and tightly curated—rather than a conventional, text-heavy art volume.
Through her oversight of the editorial process for every title, the company has grown to more than 1,700 books while maintaining a coherent, instantly recognizable style that has influenced how coffee table books are conceived and used in interiors, retail, and hospitality worldwide.
One of her clearest creative achievements is the conception and development of Assouline’s Travel Series, whose vivid, color‑blocked covers and spare, image‑forward layouts reframe destinations as immersive lifestyle narratives instead of functional guides.
The series showcases her ability to distill complex places into iconic visual and textual signatures, balancing atmosphere, history, and aspiration in a way that appeals to both serious travelers and design‑minded collectors.
More broadly, Martine’s editorial discipline—she is closely involved in concept, structure, tone, and materials across the list—has allowed Assouline to expand into boutiques, library design, and branded collaborations without diluting its core identity.
Her strengths extend beyond aesthetics into institutional and philanthropic roles: in 2009, she received an honorary doctorate from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, recognizing her contribution to visual culture and fashion communication.
Since 2021 she has served as co‑chair of the Paris Brain Institute, applying her convening power and cultural stature to support cutting‑edge neuroscience.
Now based in New York, where Assouline’s headquarters are located, she continues to work closely with Prosper and their son Alexandre in what has become a multigenerational family enterprise, using her editorial instinct, cultural curiosity, and exacting standards to steer the brand’s evolution while preserving its hallmark blend of luxury, knowledge, and strong visual storytelling.