A true wunderkind, pampered by a mother and three attentive sisters, the young Paul exhibited an incorrigible leaning towards fantasy from a young age. After earning his baccalaureat and dabbling as a delivery boy for an umbrella manufacturer – to break his pride at his father’s behest – he was hired as an assistant by...
The famed reception of the Arabian Nights was held on June 14th, 1911, in the Paris residence of Paul Poiret on the rue d’Antin. Raoul Dufy was responsible for the invitation, where he inscribed: “On that night, there will be no clouds in the sky and nothing that exists will exist.” It was true. Beneath a royal...
Born out of the legend of Wild West cowboys, leather pants made a solid comeback with the bikers of the 70s and 80s in the U.S. Everyone remembers the leather pants that equipped the band of teens seeking revolution in the movie Grease. It would get a bad reputation after a series of violent raids...
Surrealism blazed a path little by little in the visual culture of the era, notably through the pages of magazines like Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar, who’s illustrations echoed the direct ties that would forevermore bind art and fashion, and of which Elsa Schiaparelli – a pioneer in the genre – was the most illustrious representative. The “tears” dress,...
A capricious designer with Italian origins, Elsa Schiaparelli found success with her knit sweaters with trompe-l’oeil motifs that seduced active women of the 20s. She opened her first store,Pour le sport in Paris in 1927. Her creations are exuberant and light-hearted, often provocative. She likes visual games and sometimes brings them to the level of absurd,...
Paris, in the early 70s: on the Avenue Montaigne, women would cross the threshold of the Dior boutique just for a perfume or a pair of bottoms. Often, they were accompanied by a man or a friend, or perhaps their daughter as well. That little girl stopping and gazing in awe at the storefront? Victoire...
From the “Objets d’écriture” collection, the Nautilus, a reference the Captain Nemo’s submarine in Jules Verne’s Twenty thousand leagues under the sea, maintains an air of mystery about its functioning. An emblematic object that is not unlike a baguette, it has the length of a pen but neither cap nor ring nor clip to speak of, and...
Alessandra Facchinetti, previously with Gucci, and Valentino before that, is imagining clean-cut and precise yet comfortable silhouettes for this summer. “Everything emphasizes, nothing holds back.” Using the latest technological advances, the laser-made cuts make this sportswear intensely feminine. Its special touch: sophisticatedly sporty. Bright pantsuits, patterned perfectos that fall perfectly over the shoulders, shirt-dresses, underskirts,...
In 1853 at 4 rue des Capucines, Paris, Louis Vuitton launched their luggage enterprise. By producing travel trunks with rounded angles made of a waterproof canvas, the young Louis contributed to promoting the expansion of travel. According to his memoir, it was his son Georges Vuitton who chose to create the monogram, now an emblem,...
“Shoes must have very high heels to put a woman’s beauty on a pedestal.” Vivienne Westwood is unequalled for developing shoes with ingenious style and with a more than audacious instep. These shoes-cum-works of art have established themselves as collector’s pieces since the 80s. But the legend of Vivienne Westwood began 10 years earlier. In...
