Culture Lounge by ASSOULINE

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Beyond The Cover with Rafa Nadal Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Beyond The Cover, Rafael Nadal reflects on the making of Rafa Nadal, a visual biography that looks past the twenty-two Grand Slam titles and fourteen crowns at Roland-Garros to the person who won them. Written by Jon Wertheim, the book draws on images from the private collections of Nadal’s inner circle, alongside personal reflections from those closest to him, including his wife Mery Perelló, his uncle and lifelong coach Toni Nadal, and King Felipe VI. The conversation travels from a small island in the Mediterranean to the red clay of Paris, exploring family, discipline and the quiet humility that has defined one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of the game.

Discover Rafa Nadal at assouline.com.

Savoir Faire: Formula 1: The Impossible Collection Oct 02, 2026

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In this episode of Savoir-Faire, Alex, Prosper and Martine Assouline revisit Formula 1: The Impossible Collection and the year they spent creating a scent, sprayed by hand onto every copy, evoking the feeling of being on a racetrack. Prosper explains why he has always compared the maison to a racing team, where success is achieved by every person working together with precision, and Martine recounts the hunt for the 100 hundred images that best represent the sport, and the pleasure of opening a book years after finishing it and still wanting to turn the page.

Beyond The Cover With Mario Codognato "Codognato Masterpiece" Sep 25, 2026

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In this episode of Beyond the Cover, Mario Codognato takes us inside the story of Casa Codognato and the making of Codognato Masterpiece. Founded in Venice in 1866 by his grandfather Simeone, the house has long lived by one conviction: without excess, beauty cannot exist. Skulls and serpents, ancient intaglios and cameos, echoes of Byzantium, Rome and the Renaissance. These are jewels of memento mori, worn by Gabrielle Chanel, Jean Cocteau and Diana Vreeland, and today by Tilda Swinton. In a city where everything reflects on water, this book captures more than 160 years of Venetian splendour.

For more inspiration, head to assouline.com.

The Decisive Moment with Glenn Spiro Sep 17, 2026

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In this episode of The Decisive Moment, master jeweler Glenn Spiro reflects on a life shaped by risk, reinvention, and devotion to craft. He left school at 14, abandoned a budding child-actor career, and found jewelry almost by instinct, going on to pioneer titanium in fine jewelry with large, feather-light pieces women could finally wear with ease. He speaks to walking away from his own business to join Christie's, his creative director approach, the kinetic Papillon ring made famous by Beyoncé and now permanently in the V&A, and the family and resilience running beneath it all.

Wine & Cuisine with Jeannie Cho Lee & Chef Brian Kim Aug 28, 2026

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In this episode of the Culture Lounge podcast, recorded at Assouline's New York headquarters, Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Wine, and chef Brian Kim, founder of Oiji Hospitality and chef-owner of the Michelin-starred Oiji Mi and bōm, come together to consider what it means to eat and drink beautifully today. Friends for more than a decade, they trace the winding routes that led each of them into food and wine against their parents' wishes, and the years spent learning the grammar of flavor: fermentation and the hundreds of kimchis that live in a Korean kitchen, acidity and tannin and the way a full-bodied red will keep chili burning on the palate twice as long.

Savoir Faire: The Impossible Collection of Wine Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Savoir-Faire, Alex Assouline is joined by founders Prosper and Martine Assouline to revisit the Impossible Collection of Wine, ten years after its release.

Together they explore treating a book as an object as much as a text, the painstaking process of hand-replicating vintage labels for the world's 100 greatest wines, and their collaboration with co-author Enrico Bernardo, the world's youngest "Best Sommelier in the World."

They reflect on what makes a collection truly impossible, and why this title remains one of Assouline's most-collected.

The Decisive Moment with Ken Fulk Jul 31, 2026

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In this episode of The Decisive Moment, designer Ken Fulk steps into the Assouline archive room in New York to trace the spark that turned a boy with illusions of grandeur into one of America's most theatrical creative minds. Fulk shares how every project begins with words, why he refuses to repeat himself, and the laundromat encounter that changed his life 35 years ago. A conversation about the moments, little and large, that make a life worth designing.

Beyond The Cover With Deborah Calmeyer "African Adventures" Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Beyond the Cover, Alex Assouline sits down with Deborah Calmeyer, founder and CEO of Roar Africa, to explore the making of African Adventures. The word safari means "to journey" in Swahili, and that is the idea at the heart of the book: not a luxury trip, but a way of life. From the Victoria Falls to the Okavango Delta, the great migration to the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, this book sets out to capture the greatest safari on Earth through an authentic lens.

For more inspiration, head to assouline.com.

To learn more about African Adventures visit www.assouline.com/products/african-adventures-the-greatest-safari-on-earth

Travel with Kevin Wendle and Karla Martinez de Salas Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of the Culture Lounge podcast, recorded at Assouline's Mexico City boutique, Karla Martinez de Salas, Head of Editorial Content at Vogue Mexico and Latin America, and hotelier Kevin Wendle come together to reflect on the cities that have shaped them, and the one that continues to captivate them both. From the meditative stillness of Kyoto to the effortless sophistication of Paris, and the unhurried ease of the Riviera Maya, they trace the places that have left their mark, and what each has taught them about the art of being somewhere fully. The conversation turns to the enduring magic of the Mexican capital, a place of relentless creative energy and deep cultural memory.

Beyond The Cover with Sam Robles "Football Roots" Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Beyond the Cover, Brazilian photographer Sam Robles reveals the story behind Football Roots. A decade. Eighteen countries. One enduring idea: the game, in its purest form, begins long before anyone is watching. Robles spent nearly ten years documenting the football that never reaches broadcast television: children playing in alleyways, on dirt fields, between two rocks standing in for goalposts.

For more inspiration, head to assouline.com, where culture meets luxury.

To learn more about Football Roots visit ⁠https://www.assouline.com/products/football-roots-the-spirit-of-the-game

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