Car Girls

Book excerpt: Earlier this year Aperture published a deluxe edition of Car Girls, limited to 1,500 copies. By popular demand, we are pleased to issue this instant classic in a handy, adorable travel-size. Initially created at the request of one of the biggest European car show exhibitors, this mini-edition is now available to the general public. Car Girls is the culmination of a unique project created over a five-year period. Jacqueline Hassink, who has received critical acclaim for her books and exhibitions, traveled to three different continents and attended seven car shows to capture the work of the women employed to embody the corporate identities of international auto companies. As she describes it, she has used these sites to reflect on differing cultural values with regard to their ideal images of beauty and women. Most crucially, Car Girls is a document of what may have been the last gasp of extravagance from an industry in crisis. Both editions were designed by the award-winning Irma Boom.