All the Books on Matthieu Blazy’s Strand List

September 8, 2022

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Matthieu Blazy remembers his first time at the Strand. “From going there on my initial visit to New York as a teenager, it’s always [been] a space of physical exploration with the pleasure of the unexpected and finding something new,” he says. Blazy is talking up the store, famous for its “18 miles of books,” because Bottega Veneta, the Italian fashion brand where he was named creative director late last year, has created a trio of leather tote bags printed with the Strand’s iconic logo and the designer himself has curated a list of books with which to fill them. Tonight, he’ll be at the Strand for a celebratory dinner in the stacks.

Milan is home now for Blazy. His favorite bookstore there is the Libreria Bocca; “the owner is fantastic and he always loves to share his newest treasures,” he says. But in the mid-2010s, when he was the design director at Calvin Klein under Raf Simons, he really got to know the Strand. “It’s not a snotty place, it’s equally intellectual and pop,” Blazy riffs. “I’ve bought rare editions and signed books there and also went through the baking section for books by Martha Stewart and Mary Berry. Then there’s the ’70s gay pulp fiction with all the cheesy covers that I started to collect… I once got so comfortable I fell asleep in the rare books section—they let me sleep for a while!”

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There are several rare books on his Strand list. “The selection was quite spontaneous,” he explains. “It’s a mix of inspiration and books I always go back to. It was nice to be able to share those books I love and that are part of my creative process. Some have a personal significance while others have a more general interest, and a couple are current obsessions like Beauties of the Common Tool and The Fiber Art of Judith Scott. Of course, some of these books I first discovered and bought at the Strand.”

Blazy’s most treasured book of all was purchased at 828 Broadway many years ago. “My favorite book in the whole world, Avedon’s In the American West, was a Christmas present from my father,” he says. “It’s a rare edition and it still has the Strand sticker on it.” In Vogue’s September issue, he extrapolated: “The pictures were incredible—the people looked like characters, but they were also sort of ‘fashion.’ You couldn’t put any stamp on it—they looked like themselves.” As for what’s on his reading list now? “Recently I found this book about Emile Bernard’s early paintings and I was blown away. I also got this book about Cicciolina [the Italian porn star]. I love her unexpected path, her freedom, a true feminist in her own way!”

The designer’s book list will be split between the Strand and Bottega Veneta’s Soho store. The bags are available exclusively at the Soho boutique at 101 Greene Street from today, and via bottegaveneta.com on September 15.