April 9, 2024 |
When photographer Nadia Lee Cohen released her cinematic photobook, Women, in 2020, it was an instant hit. A nipple-filled ode to feminine lust, rage, joy and sex appeal backdropped by the sleaze and tawdry of vintage America, Cohen’s loyal fanbase and beyond lapped it up with insatiable thirst. Yet to be quenched, Cohen has done her parched cult-following a solid and released a renewed iteration of the monograph via niche Dover Street Market publishers Idea with an updated title: Women, Pirated Edition.
A revised version of the initial release, the new tome gives buyers the chance to see the behind-the-scenes process of creating the original. Featuring stills from Cohen’s films as well as other significant projects such as sculptures from her Jeffrey Deitch gallery show in LA and the replica working cinema she built for DSM London, the photographer describes the offering as a “bootleg” of the original, featuring “all the important and unimportant details that went into making it,” presented in the style of a Japanese fan book. Enlisting the help of art director Charlie Denis and graphic designer Verdy, who developed a traditional Japanese paper cover – an OBI band – for the hardback, the project is a meeting of multiple masterful minds.
Cohen toasted to the launch last Friday with an intimate soirée at the Tokyo Edition, Ginza, which opened its doors to the public March 14. Located just off of Chuo Street, one of the city’s largest upscale entertainment and shopping destinations, the hotel – in partnership with Marriott International – exhibits the understated luxury design work of prominent hotelier Ian Schrager and renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma who also designed the hotel group’s Toranomon property. The 19th location under the Edition hotel brand and the second venture in Tokyo, the space elegantly combines traditional and contemporary Japanese aesthetics making it the perfect place for the book’s debut. Attended by a diverse range of creative talents from across the globe and documented by Nadia herself, the guest list boasted names like Dior jewellery design director Yoon Ahn and Thai actress Kitty Chicha. Limited to only 750 copies, the new edition is sure to be the envy of fashion fans and avid collectors alike.
Photography by Nadia Lee Cohen.
