When It Sizzles
CATTON, PIA
When It Sizzles It’s Fashion Week in the capital of fashion. BY PIA CATTON Every industry has its own language, and in the fashion crowd—especially among the retail buyers—the...
...Biz is designed for deeppocketed travelers who desire space, privacy, and a soup?on of pampering...
...Small accessories (knit ties, cashmere scarves, woven belts) can be purchased, but the shop is lined mainly with examples of the suits, shirts, and jeans that can be made...
...But I’m not snapping them up just yet...
...Decour and his business partner Samuel Gassmann—both 34, friendly, and laid back about how cool they are—opened the shop to introduce a younger generation of men to the pleasures of custom-made clothing...
...At Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs sent out silky pants, sheer blouses, and jackets with strong (sometimes peaked) shoulders—all in deep colors with a tasseled, accessorized vision of the East...
...The decor is one of the designer’s most dazzling efforts, perhaps because it is more Meurice than Starck—or maybe because a martini costs 30 euros...
...What anchors the hip factor of this street is the multilabelboutique Maria Luisa, which sells top labels, such as Balenciaga and Nina Ricci, plus forward-looking young talents, like Lutz and Manish Arora...
...Located near the Place Vend?me and the wildly popular H?tel Costes, this tiny side street is emerging as a destination...
...If you don’t want to see that person, a fan-shaped shade separates the seats...
...I know because I was excited by newness...
...At the center was Mary-Kate Olsen...
...While the entertainment system is the same as in Biz, the food is more downtoearth...
...Pia Catton is a writer in New York...
...If you’re in Paris for fashion, you will end up at Maria Luisa, if not to buy things, at least to see what’s new...
...On the way over, the mind churns with all the unknowns of travel...
...Translation: Dresses are old...
...Buyers for stores around the world, like the New York-based Solomon, come to Paris in pursuit of salable innovations sparked by the runway collections...
...On the sidewalk nearby I once noticed a clump of stylish people moving down the street with the intensity of an offensive line—only they were in an odd circle formation...
...Trendy, yes, but Egl...
...Sometimes, all it takes is space to make things civilized...
...From low, black-velvet couches, you can admire the fabric mural on the ceiling and touch the tile fl oor...
...They were in almost every collection—and not just in Paris, but New York, too...
...And trends do pop: All things sheer are in favor, leading to the possible return of pantyhose...
...The seats in Prem+ are slightly narrower, but they have 51 inches of leg room and recline to 140 degrees...
...We opened here because this street is becoming trendy,” said R?gis Decour, the co-owner of the custom menswear outfi tter Egl...
...I fl ew one leg of each...
...At Maison Martin Margiela, the thin legwear was everywhere— even on the models’ heads...
...OpenSkies offers two categories of seating, Biz and Prem...
...As in: “What will excite the consumer is newness,” the fashion director of Bloomingdale’s, Stephanie Solomon, said...
...BY PIA CATTON Every industry has its own language, and in the fashion crowd—especially among the retail buyers—the word “newness” is holy...
...I’ve run into New York friends here, and spotted Naomi Campbell...
...The shape is derivative of one that was popular in the 1980s, which takes a little getting used to...
...Is this enough to kill off the thick, opaque tights and leggings that women are wearing...
...But as Solomon said, “We’ve been in a dress cycle for three seasons...
...Not just on the runways, but in stores, streets, hotels, and even in the skies...
...Absolutely...
...The seats fully recline...
...So you sit facing the other person in the row with you...
...Say it with your eyes closed and you can see its hiss trailing off into dollar signs...
...And the braised short ribs arrive on full-sized plates...
...emphasizes personal style...
...About two blocks away is the Meurice Hotel, which people are talking about because its central tearoom was recently redone by Philippe Starck...
...Mine came from a shop on Rue SaintHonor?, the lively thoroughfare lined with the shops including John Galliano, Longchamp, and, mais oui, Brooks Brothers...
...And you might think that, in a tough economy, dresses would be popular: You get a whole outfi t in one...
...The shop’s interior — dark and warm, with updates on French traditions — is itself worth a visit...
...New, yes...
...There is risotto on both menus, but no foie gras in Prem...
...In its vast and varied collection, Chanel showed a series of tweed skirts with sweaters or blouses...
...But in terms of newness, the garment that scored the highest was the jumpsuit...
...The rows of seating are two-by-two, but one seat faces front and the other faces the back of the plane...
...Lined with mirrored panels and Corinthian columns, the room has a classic French lightness made even more sparkling with whimsical details...
...I hope I’m still excited when I get home...
...And that is to be found on the new airline OpenSkies, a subsidiary of British Airways that has two routes: Between New York (JFK) and Paris (Orly) and, starting this month, between New York and Amsterdam...
...But luxury need not always be gilded...
...But with so much room in the seat, these pants are outrageously comfortable...
...Indeed, it was at Chanel that sheer pantyhose were worn with almost every look...
...My perch was a Regency-style chair with black-and-white pony hide near a fossilized tree stump and one of many gold fl oor lamps with mirrored inlays...
...Both seats face the same direction...
...The champagne fl ows...
...Running parallel to this heavily traffi cked street is a quiet fashion alley: Rue du Mont Thabor...
...Sleep came easier in Prem+ than in Biz, but I can’t blame the seats...
...The most immediately visible trend on the sidewalks is the shape of women’s pants: low-waisted and baggy at the thigh, tapered through the leg to a cropped ankle...
...After several seasons dominated by dresses, it’s now time to look at separates again...
...after a week of fashion shows, visions of Chanel dance in one’s head...
...But in Paris, there is exciting newness all around...
Vol. 14 • November 2008 • No. 9
