Culture Lounge by ASSOULINE

In this episode of the Culture Lounge podcast, we introduce Savoir-Faire, a new series devoted to the rarest of arts: knowing exactly what to do, and doing it with intention. To open the series, Alex Assouline sits down with Martine and Prosper Assouline around a title that is, in every sense, a masterwork: Venice: La Serenissima. A portrait of the world's most alluring city, and an object worthy of it.

For more inspiration, head to assouline.com, where culture meets luxury. To learn more about Venice, La Serenissima visit: assouline.com/products/venice-la-serenissima.

In this episode of the Culture Lounge podcast interior designer Miles Redd and Editorial Director of ELLE Decor and Editor-in-Chief of Town & Country Stellene Volandes come together for a conversation as layered and considered as the rooms that inspire it. They trace the winding paths that shaped their careers, step inside the world of auction houses, and reflect on the objects we choose to live with, and why we choose them. Along the way, they indulge in a spirited fantasy: the legendary jewelry collections they would most love to call their own.

There are conversations that inform. And then there are conversations that transform. Season Two of The Culture Lounge Podcast opens with the latter. Returning with a new series called The Decisive Moment, listeners are invited into something rarer than a typical interview: a genuine reckoning. Host Alex Assouline sits down with the visionaries who have shaped culture, art, and ideas, and asks the question that cuts beneath biography and achievement. 
The series opens with Martine Assouline, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Assouline, in a conversation as intimate as it is illuminating. Guided by instinct and a lifelong devotion to beauty, Martine reflects on the photography book that first ignited her ambition to become a publisher, the discipline required to capture the soul of a place rather than simply document it, and the painstaking, deeply personal process of designing each travel book cover by hand.
Tune in to our next episode on April 17.

Hosted by Alex Assouline, the Culture Lounge podcast by Assouline launching on April 3 opens a new chapter, with new voices, new series, and an even deeper exploration of culture in all its forms.

“It’s so important to dream. And people always say, your life starts when your comfort level ends.” - Aerin Lauder

In this chapter of Assouline’s Culture Lounge, we’re learning about interior design with the founder and creative director of global luxury lifestyle brand AERIN, Aerin Lauder, and former Ralph Lauren designer and current founder and creative director behind his namesake studio, Alfredo Paredes. Aerin and Alfredo share what it was like to leave established companies to start their own brands, explain their design processes, and chronicle finding design inspiration in places from Mexico City to the desert.

1:56 - Childhood memories
2:52 - Taking a leap of faith 
6:06 - Falling in love with interior design
7:53 - Aerin’s design process 
9:55 - Alfredo’s design process 
11:02 - Design choices that didn’t work
12:15 - Teddy bears on mannequin heads
12:59 - Favorite rooms at home
14:10 - Finding inspiration in the desert and Mexico City
15:39 - Advice for the next generation of interior designers
16:34 - Memories of Estée Lauder as a grandmother and mentor

Stick around until the end for a fun bit of trivia about the design tricks practiced by ancient Romans.

This episode concludes our first season of Culture Lounge. Thanks to all of you listeners for joining us as we’ve explored different corners of creativity across art, fashion, travel, cuisine, and more.

Thank you as well to all of our guests who shared their time and expertise throughout the season.

We hope you found inspiration, passion, and hopefully knowledge of something new. 

For more inspiration and a video version of this chapter, head to Assouline.com, where culture meets luxury.

À la prochaine!