Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Paris coined the expression lèche-vitrine(literally 'window-licker') for window-shopping.
'Tasting' without buying is an art like any other so don't be shy. The fancy couture houses
on av Montaigne may seem daunting but, in most, no appointment is necessary and you
can simply walk in.
Trends of Tomorrow
Each year the city of Paris honours its rising fashion stars with the Grand Prix Création de la
Ville de Paris, a prize awarded to the 'Best New Designer' (working in the trade for under
three years) and 'Best Confirmed Designer' (at least three years in the fashion biz). The list
of prize laureates is tantamount to a who's who of tomorrow's fashion scene.
Talent to watch includes 2013 winner, Serkan Cura, who crafts the most exquisite, overtly
feminine dresses in his Paris studio using all sorts of feathers, occasionally intermingled
with handmade silk flowers or beetle wings; Les Garçons (duo Louis Gerin and Gregory
Lamaud), who reinvents classics to dress men in lacy lingerie and luxuriously comfortable
homewear; and the label IRM Design (duo Marion Lalanne and Pierre-Alexis Heret), which
creates bold, often hand-painted fabrics and cuts for 'strong, charismatic and independent
women'. The collection in which IRM Design collaborated with Marseille-born Paris-based
knife-painter Françoise Nielly naturally turned heads.
