PARIS FASHION WEEK

Dear Caroline,

It’s FASHION WEEK!

I have always wanted to go to a fashion week. Toronto has one in the fall too I think but the fun stuff is always when I have work. With Paris being a fashion capital, not only are there fashion shows, there’s exhibitions, installations, museum events, galleries, swag rooms and masterclasses all throughout the city and the best part… most things are open to the public.

Since most fashion shows happened during my classes I mostly went to museums, galleries and masterclasses. I started the week at LV Dream, Louis Vuitton one of my mom’s favourite designers. As you know she loves their bags, so every time I see a store or display I immediately think of my mom. LV Dream is like a museum about the history of Mr. Louis Vuitton, the original designer, and the progression from luggage to full fledged fashion house and pop culture icon. I love seeing the genesis of things, how they came to be, especially technical drawings, and they had a few on display. it’s really cool to see how the iconic monogram brown and taupe I grew up with morphed into bright multicolours and artistic expression. LV Dream is also the home of the Louis Vuitton Cafe and chocolatier. I thought I would have a little dessert at the cafe but the prices were ridiculously expensive. No cake in the world is worth paying 25EUR per portion for. I did find something to purchase as a souvenir, it was more reasonable.

Friday was my next fashion day, and it was a packed days. On top of doing two museums I thought it would be a good idea to try a whole bunch of croissants in the city. immediately after class I went directly to Mamiche. It’s a rustic neighbourhood bakery and when it comes to prices, it’s very cheap for Paris standards. I grabbed a pain au chocolate and a rouleau au jambon, which is DELICIOUS!. it’s croissant dough that they roll out flat, spread a cheese spread and top with more cheese and ham. They then roll it up like a cinnamon bun and baked into a flaky buttery, cheesy pastry perfect for lunch. I’ve gone back three times to get some more but they have always been sold out. Next stop was La Liberté, their croissant was disappointingly dry and flavourless. After all those delicious treats I needed a break and headed to the Yves Saint Laurent Museum for a special Fashion week presentation. Yves Saint Laurent is known for pulling inspiration from other artists and even borrowing some elements from these masters and using them in his frocks. My favourite is the Mondrian collection. I would say YSL is in my top three fave designers, his collections are always different while keeping his clean lines and classic style. I really liked looking at his original sketches in his office, it really showed the progression from idea to croquis to drape to the final garment we get to see on the runway. 

Next stop was the Paris Fashion Museum or Museum Galeria. The main exhibit here was a little confusing, it had the theme of fashion in forms or fashions through time but with a more haute couture lean. Below are my favourite peaces from that exhibit. 

After that, they direct you to the more permanent exhibits in the Gabrielle Channel Gallery. Two exhibits are housed there:  Fashion in Movement and The History of Colour (at least I think those were their titles). The Fashion in Movement was very similar to the Fashion and Sports presentation at the Museum of Decorative Arts, but more centring on why the garments were made the way that they were based on the body and movements it needed to perform. Where as the Decorative Arts exhibit was more the evolution of sportswear from utility to high fashion.

The Colour of Fashion gallery was really cool though. Any time I see a presentation or gallery about colour I think of my mom, who calls her Interior Design Degree a Degree in Colour. It was fascination seeing how pigments were made and why each decade had it’s popular colour. long ago, pigments and dyes were made from organic material, like flowers or dirt, even blood. as civilization grew and with science discovering new compounds and chemicals all the time, these were then incorporated into making pigments. Did you know avocado skins were used to make purple dyes! How cool!

So much fashion and i am famished. It was time to try the last bakery on my list. This place is more technically a patisserie, it is called Patisserie Cyril Lignac. And let me tell you they had the best croissants of the day. Buttery and crispy. I never thought finding a crispy croissant would be difficult to find in Paris, usually they are more soft and flaky than crispy and buttery. But these were perfection. Flaky but crispy, structural integrity but light, buttery but not greasy. PERFECTION! I also got their chocolate caramel cookie and a thing they call a “tigre”, which is a mini chocolate chip bundt cake with chocolate ganache in the centre. That too was delicious. 

So far I am eating really well in Paris. can’t wait to try more!