Calvin Klein Celebrates the Launch of John Pawson's Book 'A Visual Inventory'

This past Wednesday, Madison Avenue's Calvin Klein Collection flagship store opened its doors to unveil architect John Pawson's rich tome of photography, culled from her personal collection, appropiately titled A Visual History. Pawson's design work is streamlined, with a minimalist slant, which made the alliance with Calvin Klein a perfect fit.
The store, which is now boasting racks of creamy, lean women's knitwear from their spring collection, was teeming with a mixed crowd of fashion notables and art aficionados. Calvin Klein Collection creative directors Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli, and the brand's President and CEO Kevin Carrigan played gracious hosts to the likes of model/blogger Hanneli Mustaparta (clothed in Calvin, of course), Vogue's Tonne Goodman, publishing heavyweight Jann Wenner (Rolling Stones, US Weekly) and his partner Matt Nye, The Met's Harold Koda, and man-about-town Lorenzo Martone.
Champagne flutes and platters of artful hors d'oeuvres glided by as Pawson signed copies and spoke of the idea behind the anthology. Through his world travels, the designer has amassed a rich trove of imagery--varying in mood from dreamy, gauzy and a bit mysterious to others with a stark, sharp clarity and a vivid sense of color. Each photo is captioned by Pawson, explaining the aesthetic reasoning behind why it was chosen for publication.

A Visual History (Phaidon, $49.95) can be purchased at New York's Calvin Klein Collection store (654 Madison Avenue) or online at Phaidon.com.