Jonathan Becker, 30 years at Vanity Fair

This collection of the photographer’s portraits for the magazine have seen him travel everywhere from Buckingham Palace and an appointment with Prince Charles to the Amazonian Jungle and one with the Yamomami tribe in pursuit of the perfect picture. http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Becker-Years-Vanity-Fair/dp/1614280797

Albertus Seba’s Cabinet of Curiosities 

Almost a coffee table in itself it’s so large, this book is one of natural history’s most compelling archives. Beautifully presented and full of completely fascinating finds, it is a must for any household. http://www.amazon.com/Albertus-Sebas-Cabinet-Natural-Curiosities/dp/3822816000

Helmut Newton, Sumo

So huge when first published a decade ago it came with it’s very own stand, Sumo charts the iconic photographer’s career, spanning 350 images that are all equal parts erotic, arresting and beautfiul. It’s as powerful today as it was when it was first published.  http://www.amazon.com/Helmut-Newton-Sumo-June/dp/3836517302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377486611&sr=1-1&keywords=helmut+newton

Alaia: by Azzedine Alaia

As far as fashion books go, this limited edition tome, published in 1999 by Steidl and chock full of the Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaia‘s arresting images is about as fabulous as it gets.

Nomads of Niger by Marion von Offelen and Carol Beckwith

For those fond of National Geographic style reportage, this book is the ultimate escape. Documenting the Woodabe tribe of Niger, it is steeped in images so compelling it’s hard to pull yourself away. http://www.amazon.com/Nomads-Niger-Carol-Beckwith/dp/0810981254

Slim Aarons – A Wonderful Time, An intimate portrait of the Good Life

"An intimate portrait of the good life"

For some good old escapism you can’t really beat Slim Aarons and his world of beautiful people and beautiful places. Stunning stuff from a stunning photographer. http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Time-Intimate-Portrait-Good/dp/0060100168/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377487758&sr=1-6&keywords=slim+aarons

Rare Bird of Fashion, The Irreverent Iris Apfel

This celebration of one of fashion’s brightest and best icons looks at her one off approach to fashion and provides inspiration on a daily basis to us in the Kotur office. A brilliant tome by Eric Boman celebrating a brilliant lady . Rare Bird of Fashion

Favorite Holiday Destination: The Amalfi Coast. I adore the dramatic  coastline with the combination of mountains and sea. I love Positano and Capri for the view, the shopping, the food, history and best of all the Italians

Luckily, it’s been a standout year for just such books. The worlds of fashion, photography, travel and design have all had light thrown onto them in a series of newly published titles we can’t wait to get our hands on.  With visuals designed to enrapture and subjects that range from Amazonian jungles to the Amalfi coast, steely beauties to starlets, perfect houses to fantasy fashion sets, here’s our roundup of the best books to give, should you wish to help transport someone away from their sofa and to another world this Christmas.  Should one also happen to end up under our tree, we’d have no problem with that, whatsoever.

Jonathan Becker – 30 Years at Vanity Fair

Via stints as both a taxi driver and a backgammon player, Becker, one of the Vanity Fair’s lead photographers, has been shooting for the magazine for three decades. Since his first picture was published in their prototype relaunch issue in 1982, the magazine has sent him everywhere from the Amazon to Aspen, via Buckingham palace. Famous for his portraits, on his journeys he has shot everyone from Andy Warhol to Robert Mapplethorpe, Arthur Miller to Gwyneth Paltrow, Jocelyn Wildenstein to Nancy Reagan. This book doesn’t just document that life, it takes you behind the scenes of both Becker’s shoots and his subjects’ worlds, shedding light on some of the most famous faces of the past 30 years. More than a book of portraits, it’s a romp through decades of our culture, a snapshot of it’s icons from the man whose job it was to really see them. Whether it’s escapism or insight you’re after, here’s your man.

Slim Aarons – La Dolce Vita

If you wanted to bottle the good life and then pour it into the pages of a book, here’s an example of how to do it. During a decades long love affair with Italy, the late photographer Slim Aarons shot the good, the bad and the glam of Italy living it large in the country’s most fabulous spots. From Sicily to Capri, bronzed bodies to boats, Ursula Andress to to the Amalfi, here’s a book that will take you far, far away from a wintry day at home.

Kate: The Kate Moss Book

She’s been THE face for decades, is THE supermodel still standing, and has looked good dressed in everything from nothing to gold paint. In a collection of photographs (some never seen before) shot by the great and good of fashion photography, here are the many faces of Kate Moss, plus proof of the power of quirky beauty.

Tim Walker – Storyteller

If fashion is about fantasy, then Tim Walker is a man who makes that magic appear. The British photographer known for his elaborate sets has had Lily Donaldson crash landing a Spitfire in a country house, Karlie Kloss clambering over Humpty Dumpty and even recreated the world of Alice in Wonderland, all in the name of fashion. In this, his latest book, his sets and portraits (all 175 of them) are conceived to take you on a journey somewhere otherworldly. They work.

KOTUR: Name your desert island essentials?
AMY: Face creams.
FLORA: A book, not on a Kindle. I am anti-Kindle.

KOTUR: Do you have a beauty secret?
AMY: Sleep.
FLORA: Sleep, which I do not get enough of!

KOTUR: What do you wear on a fat day?
AMY: (Laughing, because she is reed thin and, enviably, never seems to gain an ounce even when she has tried.) I’ve been waiting to have a fat day all my life.
FLORA: I wear a big V-neck sweater and leggings.

KOTUR: Flora, how would you describe your mother’s style?
FLORA: Very chic, elegant, and quirky as well.
KOTUR: Amy, how would you describe Flora’s style?
AMY: High and low. She has couture mixed with vintage, mixed with near rags, mixed with bargain basement…

KOTUR: What do you never leave home without?
AMY: A purse. I was brought up to believe that a lady never leaves home without a handbag.
FLORA: Money and my phone.

KOTUR: Hot date night with your husband, what do you wear?
AMY: Nothing.
KOTUR: Flora, a hot date?
FLORA: Alice + Olivia.

KOTUR: When home alone, what do you wear?
AMY: A white terry robe. Or a vintage Fernando Sanchez caftan.
FLORA: One of my dad’s cotton shirts.

KOTUR: What do you wear to bed?
AMY: Jean Patou 1000.
FLORA: I usually just pass out in my school uniform.

KOTUR: How high is too high a heel?
AMY: If you can’t walk gracefully in them, or even run gracefully, then it is too high.
FLORA: Agreed. If you can’t run gracefully, they’re too high.

KOTUR: How old is too old for jeans?
AMY: Jeans are always less flattering than a skirt, and less comfortable than they are perceived to be, too hot in summer, too cold in winter…I don’t see any age limit but I think they are overrated.
FLORA: I don’t own a pair.
AMY: We’ve both given them up because there are so many other ways to dress.

KOTUR: Can you judge a book by its cover?
AMY: Sure.
FLORA: I want to say no, but yes.

KOTUR: What’s your greatest extravagance?
AMY: Spoiling Flora
FLORA: Eating too much expensive food.

KOTUR: What are your guilty pleasures?
AMY: Sleeping too much.
FLORA: Eating too much chocolate.

KOTUR: A cheap thrill?
AMY: Bubble gum.
FLORA: Watching Jon Lajoie videos.

KOTUR: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
AMY: The easiest way is usually the wrong way.
FLORA: Don’t worry about something that might happen in the future because you will drive yourself crazy.

KOTUR: What’s your favorite smell?
AMY: Flora’s head when she was a baby.
FLORA: Shoe polish. Wet paint.

KOTUR: What are you most proud of?
AMY: You’re talking to her: Flora.
FLORA: Getting a good grade in chemistry.

KOTUR: What are you least proud of?
AMY: Using sailor mouth in front of my daughter.
FLORA: The amount of time I spend on Facebook.

KOTUR: If you could meet someone from history who would it be?
AMY: Sigmund Freud.
FLORA: My mom when she was my age.

KOTUR: Yes or no to a nip and a tuck?
AMY: Depends who does it, but if well done then yes.
FLORA: Yes, but too much is unattractive.

KOTUR: How would you like to be remembered?
AMY: As a great mother and also as an inspiration both with my writing and for my interpretation of style.
FLORA: As a good-hearted person who can put an outfit together and look good!

KOTUR: Which of the various Kotur bags you have is your favorite?
AMY: The hobo-shaped python size large. Originally, I had it size-medium but then I swapped it with Sheila [Sheila Camera Kotur] who had the larger version. Of course mine was already ink-stained inside…
FLORA: I use my mom’s Kotur clutches all the time.

KOTUR: On a scale of one-to-ten, how good looking are you?
AMY: Lets’ say I am more Vogue than Playboy.
FLORA: Ask my boyfriend!