Even panel members who said they had no affinity with the fashion drawings of Piet Paris were seized with acquisitiveness once they held Paris’s book in their hands. When this kind of thing happens you know powerful forces are at work: in this case, the format, the binding, the use of paper and the blonde atmosphere.

The format set off an immediate debate, with panel members wondering if Paris’s work might not have been done equal justice in a more modest size of book. Most, however, thought a format similar to that of a fashion glossy was perfectly appropriate. The acquisitive instinct is triggered the moment one touches the fabric-like material of the cover.

Inside, the various forms that Paris’s work takes are separated by thin dividing pages bearing an introductory text and an elegant semi-transparent art deco section title provided by Paris himself.

The typography of front matter and intermediate texts rubs up happily against the drawings, helping to focus our gaze on the way in which white space and the play of lines have been put to use. The tight direction leaves room for the occasional variation such as a tip-in, tints on the dividing pages and a fold-out.

After all is said and done  
The designers inform us that the section titles on the dividing pages have not, as was assumed by the judges, been provided by Piet Paris, but were designed by themselves, with their already existing house style for Piet Paris as starting point.