All I knew of the House of Louis Vuitton was their super luxurious handbags and clothing line, their seductive ad campaigns with A-list actresses and musicians, and that Marc Jacobs was the Design Director responsible for the houses revamp over the past decade. What I didn’t know was the houses rich history of collaborating with artists and architects, or where the famous monogram design had originated.

A new book called Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion & Architecture has just hit the book shelves to the delight of fashionistas everywhere. The book is not only beautifully illustrated with close to 400 pages of the houses most memorable ad campaigns and examples of the vast limited edition collections created with artistic collaborations, but it includes inserted essays on topics such as the history of the company, the architecture designed in stores from around the world, and what the company has done to combat counterfeiting.

After reading this book I have a greater respect for the houses ongoing commitment to artistic expression and collaboration with different types of artist from the modern architecture of its stores around the world, interior displays, limited edition collections, and exhibits of others artists. The house has a very open policy that allows the collaborating artist to morph the iconic logo into a new artistic vision proving that the brand is ever changing yet forever memorable. I loved reading about how the $45,000 infamous “Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag” came to be. The Vanessa Beecroft exhibit of naked models which invaded the Louis Vuitton flagship store on the Champs-Elysees is another tantalizing example of the cross collaboration with artist that has helped shape the brand to what it is today.

This book is sure to quickly become the “IT” book of this holiday season! Anyone interested in the ties between art and fashion will find Louis Vuitton to be the best example of cross collaboration and modern expressionism. The book is retailing for $54.