PARIS — Belmond is shining a spotlight on its publishing arm with a stand at Paris Photo showcasing its collection of books, including its recently launched line of coffee table tomes published with Assouline.
The hospitality group, owned by French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has been a presenting partner of Photo London for the last three years, staging photo exhibitions linked to its “As Seen By” collection, produced with Parisian publisher RVB Books.
Its stand at Paris Photo presented those collectible photobooks alongside its “Recipes & Wanderings” series created in partnership with Apartamento, and the first two tomes from the Assouline collection: “Splendido: The Radiant Stage of Portofino” and “Peru: An Odyssey Across a Time-Honored Land” — both released in October.
“This is the first time that we’ve been a partner with Paris Photo, and it’s also the first time that we’ve had the three collections together in one place,” said Jonathan Openshaw, global editor in chief of Belmond. “Paris Photo is the event you want to be at in the photography world, so we’re very happy.”
Since he was appointed in 2023, Openshaw has overseen the development of the publishing division, which is rooted in the local culture around legendary properties ranging from The Cadogan in London to the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Italy.
“We have this real focus on what we call slow luxury, slow travel, so it’s more about a sense of lingering connection with a destination, and print publications are a really beautiful way for us to encourage people to slow down and connect,” Openshaw said.
“Rather than do one in-house Belmond collection, we wanted to work with expert publishers who could help us dig into different parts of the story,” he added.
An extract of “Copacabana Palace” by Ángel Castellanos.
Courtesy of RVB Books and Belmond
The “As Seen By” collection is an extension of the Belmond Legends advertising campaign, which commissions photographers to cast their eye on a given location.
Three additional volumes were launched during Paris Photo: “Cap Juluca” as seen by Jeano Edwards, “Copacabana Palace” by Ángel Castellanos, and “Castello di Casole” by Cecy Young, winner of the inaugural Belmond Photographic Residency.
“What we realized is we have this amazing wealth of photography that can never make it to the campaign — because obviously with the campaign, we can only have eight images — so we wanted to really give more space for the photographer to explore a particular vision of place,” he said.
The Apartemento books are culinary deep dives into a region. The most recent, “El Bajío: Recipes & Wanderings Through Mexico’s Heartland,” features dishes gathered from the Sazón cookery school at Belmond’s Casa de Sierra Nevada hotel in San Miguel de Allende. Others have focused on Italy and Malaysia.
“It’s a blend of usable recipes from our kitchens to celebrate the work of our teams, but also really going into the local region, working with suppliers who work with our kitchens — a celebration of the terroir, really,” Openshaw explained.
A photograph from “El Bajío: Recipes & Wanderings Through Mexico’s Heartland.”
Courtesy of Apartamento Publishing and Belmond
The Assouline collection focuses on legendary destinations like the Hotel Splendido in Portofino, which reopened in June following a full renovation by Martin Brudnizki. Next year, a new tome will accompany the reopening of the Villa San Michele near Florence.
The Belmond stand at Paris Photo, which runs until Sunday, sits on the balcony across from the Editions Louis Vuitton space. The French luxury brand’s colorful Fashion Eye collection, launched in 2016, set a blueprint for the marriage of travel and photography, underlining the role of books as brand experiences.
“I guess my title, editor in chief, is quite unusual for a hospitality brand, but really, it’s about celebrating our stories,” Openshaw said. “We have exhibitions, so we curate art; we have the books, so we curate publishing, and obviously we really curate experiences.”
For example, Belmond recently inaugurated its Designer Residence concept by inviting Thebe Magugu to create a signature suite and concept store at the Mount Nelson hotel in Cape Town.
Openshaw said the hospitality group now has its three key book pillars in place. “We see this as our complete offer now, and then we keep adding new books in the collection each year and celebrating new stories,” he said.
The cover of “Splendido: The Radiant Stage of Portofino” from Assouline.
Courtesy of Assouline and Belmond
