What Marc Jacobs did for the Louis Vuitton Monogram when he partnered with Takashi Murakami, the designer has now done for Visionaire. Jacobs, who serves as guest art director on Private, the 52nd installment of the fashion-forward quarterly, collaborated with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott on a series of intimate portraits reflecting today’s most contemporary icons from New York, London, and Paris. Drew Barrymore, Selma Blair, Lil’ Kim, Scarlett Johansson, Stephanie Seymour, Gisele Bündchen, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, and even New York City Ballet principal dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied are featured in the 192-page collector’s book, which debuts October 1 for $375 and will come housed in a limited-edition Louis Vuitton gold Monogram Miroir case. This is the second time that Louis Vuitton produces custom packaging for Visionaire.

Meanwhile, Visionaire 53, sponsored by British car manufacturer MINI, is dedicated to the theme of sound. The 34-page issue consists of five 12-inch vinyl records, each imprinted with images, or picture discs, that together contain more than 100 minutes of sound content-ranging from unreleased songs to spoken word pieces. Also included in the custom domed case is a MINI Clubman “Vinyl Killer” record player, a battery-operated toy car that features speakers and a needle. As the car moves along a record’s groove, it plays each track, acting as a fully portable record player and sound system. The $250 issue comes packaged with two CDs with all of the sound content gathered digitally from such musicians as David Byrne, Courtney Love, Kim Gordon, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, and Cat Power’s Chan Marshall; artists Robert Wilson, Yoko Ono, Doug Aitken, and Sylvie Fleury; deejays Trevor Jackson, Towa Tei, and Michel Gaubert; and designers Alexander McQueen and Helmut Lang. Via Fashion Week Daily.

As usual very impressive what Visionaire is putting together. It might seem expensive at first, but at a closer look, the innovation, line-up of people involved and limited amount of copies, demand this publication to be priced the way it is.

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