French pastry chef Pierre Hermé is set to release a cookbook filled with some of the recipes and pastries that have made his name a powerful brand around the world.

Pierre Hermé gives readers a hundred recipes that reinvent classic French cakes and desserts into innovative new flavor combinations, like croissants filled with rose-scented almond paste and a raspberry and lychee compote.

The Saint Honoré cake is reinvented with green tea, chestnuts and passionfruit, while a ‘foie gras’ crème brûlée is adorned with caramelized mango.

Alber Elbaz, iconic fashion designer and creative director at Lanvin, is writing his first book, scheduled for release early 2012.

The 700-page tome will be a comprehensive guide to the design and production methods required to create a fashion collection.

The first several pages will remain empty, reported the Los Angeles Times, to evoke his daily creative process. “That is how I start every day,” he divulged.

Renowned shoe designer Christian Louboutin, has written his first book, part autobiography part personal photo album.

The tome comprises of six chapters giving insights into Louboutin’s influences, best loved styles and his career highlights.

Louboutin has also recuited some of his favourite models and friends to contribute, including Dita Von Teese, Kristen Scott Thomas John Malkovich and David Lynch.

French designer Coco Chanel spied for the Nazis during the German occupation of France in World War II, according to a new book on sale Tuesday.

“Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War,” by Hal Vaughan, expands on long-standing evidence that the iconic designer had a double life and was the lover of a spy, Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage.

Vaughan’s book reveals that not only was Chanel recruited to the Abwehr military intelligence organization, but that von Dincklage was himself a “Nazi master spy.”

Louis Vuitton plans to release Louis Vuitton: Architecture & Interior, a new book that showcases the foundations and structures of its worldwide stores.

The book shows some of the most memorable Louis Vuitton retail spaces. It provides scetches, blue prints and of course many amazing pictures.

The book will feature 300 illustrations including previously unpublished architect’s sketches and interviews with Peter Marino, Christian de Portzamparc and Jun Aoki.

In 1875, Jules Louis Audemars, aged 22, and Edward Auguste Piguet, aged 24, founded Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, a small village in the Swiss Jura.

This agreement entailed a workshop in the family home, a registered brand name, and a decade-long partnership contract. In 2011, the Manufacture Audemars Piguet employs almost 1,000 people in Switzerland and around the world.

The company conveys a unique culture nurtured by tradition, audacity and excellence. It also stems from an original alchemist’s blend passed on through the generations and combining respect for nature with know-how and a taste for perfection.