Jean-Christophe Napias – författare

French couturière Coco Chanel has achieved legendary status across the world and continues to captivate young generations of fashion fans who eagerly collect and share her quotes, creations and insights. A close friend of some of the leading wits and writers of her days (from Jean Cocteau to poet Pierre Reverdy), Coco Chanel was fierce and uncompromising in her pronouncements on fashion (‘Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity’; ‘Elegance is refusal’; ‘Fashion changes, but style endures’), women (‘A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future’; ‘Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman’) and life (‘The best things in life are free. The second-best are very expensive’). Much like her successor, Karl Lagerfeld, she never shied away from controversy, declaring one day of her detractors: ‘I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all’. Presented in a beautiful package and accessible format, The World According to Coco is the perfect gift for fans of fashion in general and Chanel in particular.

An elegant collection of Christian Dior’s maxims on style, women and inspiration, presented in a fashionable gift format. Credited with creating some of the most luxurious and spectacular haute couture pieces of all time, Christian Dior became a fashion icon overnight in 1947 with the launch of his ‘New Look’ - sumptuous hourglass silhouettes that provided a welcome tonic to the austerity of wartime. Its wild success, and the global fame that ensued, was built on the designer’s subtle understanding of fashion, couture, style, elegance and women - a perspective and insight best revealed in Dior’s own words, which are gathered here for the first time. Rightly described as the ‘Designer of Dreams’ in the recent blockbuster exhibition on the house of Dior that attracted millions of visitors the world over, Christian Dior was an unrivalled arbiter in the world of high fashion. Dior was generous with his advice on all things, from style and how to dress (‘No elegant woman follows fashion blindly’, he once declared), to his insights into the creative process, invaluable for any budding designer. Presented in a beautiful package and accessible format, The World According to Christian Dior is the perfect gift for fashion fans, publishing on the occasion of the house’s 75th anniversary.

A stylish collection of legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent’s maxims on fashion, craft, women and inspiration, presented in an attractive gift format. Founded by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1962, shortly after the young couturier left his post at the helm of Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent would soon become one of the most successful and influential haute couture houses in Paris. Introducing Le Smoking, the first tuxedo suit for women, in 1966, Saint Laurent also presented iconic art-inspired creations, from Mondrian dresses to precious Van Gogh embroidery and the famous Ballets Russes collection. The designer put the women who wore his clothes first (‘What’s most important in couture is the body we dress, the woman we dress, more so than the ideas we might have’) and was determined to change attitudes of the era (‘Fashion’s purpose was not only to make a woman look beautiful, but also to reassure them and to give them confidence’). He could be critical of the fashion industry (‘I adore clothes but I hate fashion’) and saw himself as a craftsman who perfectly understood his customer (‘I think there are three kinds of designers. The big ones, the real ones, and those who know how to strike a chord with a woman just by making a very simple dress, or a very simple suit’). Presented in a beautiful package and accessible format, The World According to Yves Saint Laurent is the perfect gift for fashion fans, capturing the essence of a true visionary.

Immerse yourself in the wit and wisdom of Coco and Karl: two elegant collections of the legendary designers’ maxims on style, creativity and life. Chic, sharp and always on point, Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld continue to captivate young generations of fashion fans. Chanel was fierce and uncompromising in her opinions on fashion, women and life, while Lagerfeld’s famously controversial pronouncements were seized upon by fashionistas, acolytes and sages around the world. Cultivated, surprising and sometimes shocking, their ‘bons mots’ are always impossible to ignore. This elegant box set contains two slim volumes of their pithiest, wittiest and most provocative quotations, and will be required reading for us all today as we negotiate the trickiest curves of modern life. ‘Fashion changes, but style endures’ Coco Chanel ‘People who tell all appal me’ Karl Lagerfeld ‘The best things in life are free. The second-best are very expensive’ Coco Chanel ‘You must never be afraid of progress. Otherwise you are damned’ Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld is a modern master of couture. He is also famously outspoken: his wise, surprising statements pop up like offbeat news flashes. This collection of quotations pays homage to the legendary éminence grise of the fashion world. Lagerfeld’s pronouncements – on fashion, women, art, politics, love, and life high and low – are famously oracular, seized upon by fashionistas, acolytes and sages around the world. Created with the full approval of the designer himself, this cornucopia of Lagerfeld’s maxims is required reading for us all today as we negotiate the trickiest curves of modern life. Cultivated, unpredictable, provocative, sometimes shocking, Lagerfeld’s ‘bons mots’ are always impossible to ignore.

The fashion world has long been celebrated for its scintillating salon wit. The sharpest tongues and quickest repartee have always sprung from the lips of fashion royalty. From Oscar Wilde to Miuccia Prada, fashion’s words of wisdom have become our daily bread.Fashion Quotes presents hundreds of the snappiest quotations from over three centuries, from the society beaux of the 18th century and the literary wits of the 19th century, to the celebrity elite of the 20th century and today’s hippest twitterati. Christian Lacroix has gilded the pages with creative inspiration, his illustrations perfectly expressing the colour and panache that we expect of fashion’s finest. The collection is divided into quotations from different spheres, including: Elegance, Shoes, Dressing up, The Little Black Dress, Dandyism, Eros, Eccentricity, Models, Vanity.Fashion Quotes will be the must-have gift for every fashionista and aspiring wit, or for anyone looking for the ultimate smart put-down, cheeky pick-me-up, whip-crack wisdom or poisonous punchline.

The almost 200 entries in the addictive Everything (or Almost Everything) About Paris are a witty and sophisticated treasure trove of facts, histories, lists, records, quotations, and miscellaneous oddities that go well beyond trivia to include significant cultural information and an enlightening glimpse of Parisian life:  • An explanation of the Parisian chant of disillusionment: "métro, boulot, dodo;" • Addresses and descriptions of vineyards within the city limits;• Ten vintage aperitifs to order in bistros;• Imaginary Parisian streets that appear in novels;• The number of brothels, massage parlors, and “places of pleasure” listed in a 1922 guidebook; • Famous poisonings that occurred in Paris;• Mottos of the five greatest educational institutions in Paris;• Fines charged for municipal infractions, from feeding pigeons (35€) to appearing nude in a public place (35,000€ and imprisonment);• Histories of the cobblestones, the rooftops, and the trashcans of Paris;• Names of the most famous can-can dancers of the mid-19th and early 20th century;• The odd and scandalous history of villa Félicien-Fabre in the 16th arrondissement;• Thirty significant paintings displayed in churches in Paris...and much, much, much more.