Anthony Vaccarello’s Favourite Art and Photography Books

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Noses Elbows and Knees
Noses Elbows and Knees by Mario Sorrenti and John Baldessari(Book cover)

The creative director of Saint Laurent curates a fantasy reading list, from the dreamy 1980s photography of David Hockney to Mario Sorrenti’s vibrant new title Noses, Elbows and Knees

Today, the creative director of Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, has shared an inspiring list of book recommendations, all of which are available via the French house’s Rive Droite store. Featuring publications on everything from mid-century design and 1980s photography – plus more than one book on Andy Warhol – the curation has something for fashion, art, photography and design fans alike. 

David Hockney Photographs 1983 is included in the list, which collates images taken by the seminal British artist over the course of one year, bringing together colour and black and white photography, along with distorted photomontages. Elsewhere, Vaccarello’s admiration for another art world icon is apparent, with not one but two books on Andy Warhol – Andy by Philippe, which sees photographer and illustrator Philippe Morillon pay tribute to his late friend; and Diane Keaton by Andy Warholwhich features a series of portraits of the American actress by the Pop artist, originally commissioned by Vanity Fair.

The designer’s curation also caters to architecture and interior design obsessives, with books such as A Passion for Jean Prouvé, the Assouline-published Jean-Michel Frank, which chronicles the life and work of the prolific yet elusive French artist, and Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, which tells the story of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret’s staggering Chandigarh project in India during the 1950s via beautiful photos and drawings.

Vaccarello’s list also shines a light on the newly published – and limited edition – photo book Noses Elbows and Knees by Mario Sorrenti and the late John Baldessari. Featuring works originally exhibited at New York’s Half Gallery in 2017 in an exhibition of the same name, this book aims to deconstruct familiar codes of fashion imagery through a vibrant mixing of fashion, photography and collage.

Shop Anthony Vaccarello’s reading list exclusively via ysl.com here