I was invited to a rare birthday party recently and the hostess, a very elegant International personality, was wearing a beautiful claret velvet dress. I thought it might be a vintage Givenchy but it looked more modern… and it was by Azzedine Alaïa, from one of his last collections, as she confirmed. It could also have been by Balenciaga. This … Read More
Mes chaussettes rouges, socks, chic and shock ….
It all started with the Italian brand Gammarelli which became famous over the years as the provider of red socks for the Cardinals in the Vatican and French Prime minister Edouard Balladur. Two young graduates from business school, Jacques Tiberghien and Vincent Metzger, decided ten years ago to acquire the company and have since travelled a long way around the … Read More
Two French girls in Shanghai, create “Chinoises”
After working for 15 years with Hermès in Paris and in Shanghai, Félicie le Blan has started her own luxury company with business partner Carine Boyer, who recently moved to New York. These two French ladies were frustrated not to find the right designs in Chinese fashion so they decided to use the best of Chinese silk and pristine velvet, to create … Read More
At quai Branly, twenty years of collecting with Jacques Chirac
If you have never been to Musée du Quai Branly Jacques-Chirac, the museum conceived and wanted by the President of France from May 17, 1995 to May 16, 2007, now is the time to go and celebrate “twenty years of acquisitions”. President Chirac died last Thursday, September 26, and the museum designed by Jean Nouvel near the Eiffel Tower, is … Read More
Pierre Yovanovitch, the Book!
It was the first book signing of the Rentrée and at Galignani’s, Danielle Cillien-Sabatier, the grande Prêtresse of the bilingual bookstore, was in full steam. Interior architect, designer and art collector Pierre Yovanovitch was chatting to all his friends while dedicating a superb 365 page album of his work, published by Rizzoli in English and in French. Everyone was glamorous, tanned … Read More
Yes it’s open in August!
Paris is wonderful in August because you park everywhere and everyone is smiling at you. Except when you look for a post office, like I did this morning, and you realize they are all closed until 1pm!!! While walking on rue des Archives, I ran into a wonderful store, La Garçonnière, at the corner of rue Braque where Thérèse Delpech, … Read More
Alaïa and Schnabel, a winning combination!
Since he abruptly died in 2017, Azzedine Alaïa has been remembered vividly thanks to his exhibition space on rue de la Verrerie in the Marais. The fourth celebratory exhibition curated by Olivier Saillard, “The Tati collection”, is an amazing testimony to the couturier’s talent. With a simple cotton cloth he managed to design couture clothes. The red, blue and black … Read More
Pays Basque is celebrated through its dance costumes
The Basque country, which goes across borders over the Pyrénées, from Bayonne to Bilbao, has always fascinated ethnologists and this new book on its traditional dance costumes conceived by Serge Gleizes, is a little gem. Largely due to the talent of photographer Véronique Mati. If you have ever been curious about provincial French costumes, this is a series of photographs … Read More