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 Letter from Paris: Fashion and Design Victims
Bonjour! This month's Letter from Paris details the fashion whirl that swept the city in January, the latest news about exhibits and haps in fashionably gay Le Marais, and a look at the hottest boutiques and designer brands favored by some of the chicest denizen of the City of Lights.
Letter from Paris: Fashion and Design Victims
Direct from the streets of Le Marais
Written By Pascal Fonquernie
Location: Paris, France
Category: | Travel |
The past few weeks have brought Paris and le Marais more world-class jet-setters than our glittering, bling bling so-called president could ever dream of. (Poor France, we thought it was impossible to find someone worse than Jacques Chirac, but now we all regret him). It was fashion week, and the Paris Capitale de la Creation trade show – which included the world’s number one design show, Maison et Objet – took place in the gigantic exhibition hall of Villepinte.
The streets of le Marais were packed with models – chic girls from Italy, Britain and America, sexy male models from Germany, Holland and Austria, and of course, designers, buyers and fashion victims from across the planet. Le Marais became more international than ever.
All hotels including the top 5-star Murano and Pavillon de la Reine were fully booked. There is no need to say it again, but we will anyway – there is really no low season in Paris, it’s always a very busy city! The only off-season and therefore cheap time is from July 15 to August 25, so if you are on a budget, plan your holiday for August and you’ll enjoy discounts of 30% to 40% off most hotels and apartment rentals.
Le Marais is not yet famous for its designers and is certainly not the main reason why people flock to Paris’ favorite district, but it may be another good reason to discover it. Le Marais has been classified by UNESCO as a world wonder.
It is home to Notre Dame, the Carnavalet museum, the Picasso museum, plus 170 historical palaces and mansions, and hundreds of divine medieval, renaissance and baroque streets to discover.
 But there is also the Pompidou Center. The structure that locals used to call the “ugly oil factory” now offers the largest modern art collection in France, is one of Paris’ most visited monuments, and employs over 1000 Parisians.
This museum is proof that it is well worth mixing the modern with the past – this is what makes a city vibrant and lively, not just a yellowed page in a dusty history book. And if you’re lucky enough to be in Paris this month, you absolutely must visit the exhibition featuring Richard Rogers and other great architects.
Fashion and design are the other side of le Marais, the one you discover when you visit the Village Saint Paul, a small pedestrian district. This area offers an eclectic mix of antique dealers and newly opened local furniture designers whose presence is supposed to bring more people to this poorly visited area.
For more information, visit www.parismarais.com/village-saint-paul.htm. The revitalization has been only semi-successful, but it does take time to get the word out and create traffic and excitement in a traditionally commercial area.
One of the best things about le Marais, is that unlike many city centers, this district has not yet been invaded by big brands and the globalization effect. No MacDo… No Zara… No Gap here… or very few of them. What you’ll find instead are lots of tiny boutiques and independent shops with small designer brands, such as Pierre Talamon who produce their clothes locally.
 Also, inventive designers like Gaspard Yurkievitch (www.yurkievich.com/ ) who designed the great dresses that Jean Louis Garnier and I were presenting at Le Scarron for Fashion TV on top models Jodie Kidd and Tacha de Vazconzuelos (for more fabulous details, see below…).
The city of Paris is in its own way supporting these smaller businesses. They don’t have many ways to influence the local economy, but at least they have the power to preserve some local life for the residents. Through special real estate societies like Semaest who give priority for commercial leases to vital shops such as grocery stores, butchers and bakeries, the city can keep these businesses from being converted into mass market clothing shops
There is no reason why le Marais should not continue in this creative direction, protecting the past and looking towards the future to attract new generations of visitors, as well as supporting local employment such as advertising or travel agencies, social services for elderly people and children, and the work of artists and architects.
A bientot.
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