Places

Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées

| Design & Culture by Ed

The very new Galeries Lafayette is the only reason you should walk down the Champs-Élysées in Paris. While I hate the idea of department stores, especially with all the independent boutiques that shape the Parisian fashion scene, opening one feels like a pointless idea. But the new project from Lafayette is quite intriguing. As their site reads, the place is “shaking up the conventional notions of a concept store, on the scale of a department store”. Here, you will discover the latest fashion, lifestyle, and beauty collections from emerging and luxury labels, dreamed up by the surprisingly uncorporate team. There’s the rare niche (think Batsheva, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Magda Butrym, Molly Goddard, Rosie Assoulin, Paco Rabanne, Simone Rocha, Medea) as well as all the Guccis and Balenciagas. The perfume section is rich in niche brands like Ormaie Paris and Régime Des Fleurs. And also, this place is a Jacquemus paradise. Jacquemus & Caviar Kaspia teamed up to imagine an exceptional space in store – Cafe Citron. Conceived under the artistic direction of Simon Porte Jacquemus, the café offers a menu based on fresh seasonal products all year round, prepared on-site and served with the grounded simplicity of the French provençal style. Of course, there’s also the ‘Lemon’ dessert, which keeps on storming Instagram since the store’s opening. It’s really, really good.

60 Av. des Champs-Élysées / Paris

All photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Musée Yves Saint Laurent

| Design & Culture by Ed

At Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris, my heart beat faster. Like, a hundred times faster. The museum is located in the legendary hôtel particulier at 5 avenue Marceau where Yves Saint Laurent spent nearly thirty years designing his collections from 1974 to 2002. The same building serves as the headquarters of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent. Across 450 m2, an ever-changing rotation of retrospective displays and temporary thematic exhibitions present the Fondation’s rich and unique collection. The museum  focuses on both the couturier’s creative genius and the process of designing a haute couture collection. Beyond its monographic ambitions, the museum seeks to address the history of the twentieth century and the haute couture traditions that accompanied a way of life that no longer exists. From Yves’ studio, which seems to be completely untouched, to the space dedicated to the designer’s collaboration with Claude Lalanne (forever love), this place is a visual and historic treat.

5 avenue Marceau / Paris

All photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Deauville

| Design & Culture by Ed

The town where Coco Chanel opened her first boutique in 1913. The chic resort destination of France that’s filled with the most gorgeous, old villas. The wide beach, which is the centre of life for the locals. Deauville, although slightly romanced by the French, has the charm of Normandy.

There are also two very special addresses…

Paul Pierre‘s flowershop is a dream place. It’s visible that flowers are the owner’s truest passion. The store is located in a magnificent, brick villa, surrounded with a garden. Anemones, hydrangea, most delightful shades of roses… ahh. Goals!

93 rue du Général Leclerc

La Maison is another place you won’t want to leave. Home decorations, kitchenware, pajamas, ceramics, chairs, linens – basically everything needed for a villa as gorgeous as the one the store is located in. While being there, I noted everything has a ‘Made in France‘ tag.

11 rue Edmond Blanc

All photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Les Jardins d’Étretat

| Design & Culture by Ed

Les Jardins d’Étretat is a magic place which, as if by the wave of the hand, has appeared at Falaise d’Amont cliffe, at Seine Maritine. These gardens enjoy spectacular views over the ancient town and one of the world’s most beautiful cliffs, Falaise d’Aval, with its famous L’Aiguille gushing from the ocean. The gardens and the villa were founded more than a hundred years ago by Madame Thébault, a famous actress at the beginning of the 20th century. Inspired by the ideas of Claude Monet, who lived in Étretat for some time and was a keen gardener, she decided to create her own, gorgeous garden. Today, The Gardens are a venue for permanent and transitory exhibtions by international artists. Works of Samuel Salcedo (the brilliant faces placed in Le Jardin Émotions), Wiktor Szostało and Sergey Catran are here, among many others. If you’re in Normandy by car, you can’t miss this charming place.

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Trouville’s Addresses

| Design & Culture by Ed

Wherever you go in Trouville-Sur-Mer, there’s a view on the ocean (or you at least feel this fresh, iodine-filled breeze). So no there’s no wonder that the locals are truly connected to their surroundings. That’s reflected in the town’s boutiques, which mix this kind of surfer girl allure with the eternally timeless, quintessentially French style (when you come to Normandy, you will discover that in fact, all that Frenchness in fashion isn’t entirely a cliché – those women are born with this gorgeous style). Here are my favourite addresses in Trouville:

 

When you enter Chez Stef, you feel like in a wardrobe of a very chic party-goer, who lives near the beach. Stef, the owner of the boutique, sells well-curated, beautiful, artinasal goods from Ibiza (think Loewe x Paula’s Ibiza style), as well as her owns designs. I witnessed how Trouville women adore her kaftans and parachute dresses: they all got sold out within an hour. When in town, you’ve got to visit Stef!

11 rue de Paris 35

Boheme is where you get the French classics, which seem to be fantastically sun-drenched already there, in-store (loved all the mustard and rust colour palette). The store sells small,affordable Made-in-France-tag labels, as well as blankets, pillow, cotton bags and artisanal baskets. Love.

93 rue des Bains

La Quincaillerie d’Albertine feels like a cabinet des curiosités, where you can buy everything you see. From hand-made stationery (notebooks, postcards) to socks (got a crab-printed pair by Royalties), you won’t leave this place with empty hands.

78 rue des Bains

If you’re a fan of vintage, you can’t miss Violette Vintage. While vintage luxury fashion tends to get overpriced, here you will be surprised to find Louis Vuitton kints, Hermès silks and Yves Saint Laurent coats in very appealing prices. The store’s funky (yes, I used this word!) interior takes you to another decade.

12 rue Victor-Hugo

(Mum and Stef from Chez Stef)

All photos by Edward Kanarecki.