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The Art Deco trend is perhaps not the most prominent one of the season, but there’s definitely some really great Art Deco-inspired collections out there right now. Holly Fulton of course rules the roost, but plenty of other brands like Gucci and Kat Maconie for Dune have some great pieces out right now. Here’s some of my favourite…
1: Ruby Browning Hermes Orange Snake Bracelet, £63, from Kabiri
2: Holly Fulton Placard Necklace, £224 (was £320), from Farfetch
3: Ruby Browning Drop Diamond Leather Earrings, £108, from Kabiri
4: Mini Sequins Jacket, £155, from French Connection
5: Holly Fulton Memphis blouse, £415, from Matches
6: Sunray Dress, £85, from Oasis
7: Holly Fulton Lips Trousers, £303 (was £758! 60% off!), from Matches
8: Gucci Pleated Silk Skirt, £855, from Net-a-porter
9: Marni Leather Belt, £210, from Net-a-porter
10: Kat Maconie for Dune Soho Beach Sandal Black, £135, from Dune
11: Kat Maconie for Dune Shore Club Heel Pink, £165, from Dune
12: Kat Maconie for Dune Soho Beach Sandal Gold, £135, from Dune
As much as I love shopping online, nothing quite beats going to a proper boutique, where the shopping is as much about the experience as it is about leaving with some new goodies. They’re often the ones taking risks on young designers, creating an atmosphere no department store can recreate, and make shopping an intimate and luxurious experience for the customers again. So many of these boutiques are the unsung heroes of the fashion industry, so I’ve decided to shed a spotlight on some of my favourite ones on this blog.
First up is L’Éclaireur in Paris – which I got to discover on my trip with Farfetch, who they’re partnered with. L’Éclaireur – which literally translated means the enlightener – is actually a group of 6 beautiful designer boutiques all over Paris. The one I visited was L’Eclaireur Sévigné in the heart of Le Marais, opened in 2009. The incredible interior of the boutique (cardboard panels and built in tv screens, sprayed with car paint), was designed by Belgian artist Arne Quinze, who also designed the central wooden installation.
Once you can drag yourself away from admiring the incredible interior and the 147 animated tv screens, there’s an awful lot to discover in the boutique: from the moveable walls which pop open to reveal extra rails to the sheer quality of the clothes and accessories in every nook and crook of the shop, wandering through L’Éclaireur is a real adventure. This particular shop has only womenswear, and really caters to the high end client – with tons of Givenchy, Balenciaga, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries van Noten, Haider Ackermann and much, much more, as well as a few younger and lesser known designers (sadly I can’t think of one right now.).
At the front of the shop is a little, almost independent boutique offering slightly more accessible pieces, like sunglasses, jewellery, handbags and scarves – whereas the main shop is mostly just to admire for someone with my budget, the little shop offers the kind of things I’ll usually end up buying – perfect combo!
If you’re in the neighbourhood, L’Eclaireur is definitely not to be missed. I can’t speak for the other 5 boutiques, but I can only imagine they’re just as amazing. And if you’re not headed towards Paris anytime soon, don’t forget you can shop the boutique from anywhere on Farfetch.
L’Eclaireur Sévigné
40 rue de Sévigné
Paris 03
Open Mon -Sat, from 11am – 7pm
You’ll find lots more pictures of the shop on the Alex Loves Facebook page!
A few snaps from the little shop at the front:
Last week I spent a perfect 24 hours in Paris with the lovely team from Farfetch to celebrate the launch of The Playlist, a new project in which they’ve collaborated with six of the world’s best independent music shops and two emerging bands to celebrate the spirit of independent music stores worldwide and the ever-evolving relationship between music and fashion.
To mark the launch, Farfetch asked both bands – S.C.U.M. and Singtank – to create a fashion film with them, as well as play an exclusive gig, one of those being the reason we travelled to Paris. Myself, Charlie May and Katie Chutzpah were invited to watch Singtank play a gig in the new RA Boutique – one of Farfetch’s partners. Singtank is an up-and-coming French brother/sister pop duo consisting of Alexandre and his sister Josephine de la Baume, a French actress and wife of Mark Ronson. We were lucky enough to have a chat with them before the gig, and they were absolutely adorable, down to earth and my god, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have dreams about Josephine’s beautiful red hair for months to come!
Although the trip was short, we managed to pack a lot into the day, with a visit to L’Éclaireur, another one of Farfetch’s partners and one of the best shops I’ve been to in a long time (full review to follow in another post), afternoon tea at the Ritz, drinks in a secret bar (so secret, I don’t know what it’s called), a midnight Steak Tartare and a few hours sleep at Hotel Le Général (review to follow later as well).
Click here to find out more about The Playlist and make sure you have a look at the lovely fashion film Singtank created with Farfetch below, called “Lonsdale Road” (because that’s where it was shot. Get it?)
A big, massive, huge thank you to Farfetch for taking us, and spoiling us absolutely rotten!
p.s. if you like Singtank, they’re playing at Koko in London this Friday (May 4th!)
Payton and Byrne breakfast on the Eurostar
My new Tusting bag got to go with me on its first trip
These were waiting for me in the hotel room… nom nom
Charlie May aka Girl a la Mode
L’Éclaireur (review to follow)
Afternoon tea at the Ritz (and my midnight steak tartare)
Ready for the party!
Singtank at the new RA Boutique. Never been to an event before where Absinthe was served…
Charlie, Karen and me – I may look wasted, but I wasn’t drunk, promise! Not yet at least…
