I land in the early morning, it’s dark and I ready myself for the cold outside of CDG. A very welcomed change from the Sydney summer where I feel like I’m just surviving and struggling through most days activities. I’m ready for layers, and the feeling of being dressed in a much more ‘respectable’ way than the weather will allow in summer.
I drop my bags off to my friends apartment, heading out to find myself a pastry (as a vegan in Paris, it is very possible these days), and then over to White for a coffee before I start on my way to Musée de l’Orangerie. I always try do two things as soon as I can, almost every trip. First –see the Monet Water Lillies room; and second – eat at Jah Jahs (get the ginger juice at the very least).
If I can do this within the first few hours of being in Paris, I feel like I’m kicking goals and setting myself up for a great trip. I’m a creature of habit for sure, but there’s a reason…when you get the Water Lillies room relatively empty, you’ll understand.
This is my third fashion week in Paris in the last two years (although one doesn’t count because I was asleep and stupidly ill for five out of six days I was there). It’s a week of friends in town from all over the world, and a chance to catch up, check in and see what everyone has been working hard on. There’s a beautiful buzz, lots of energy and conversations in all different languages happening at every corner and at every event (and there’s a lot of those).
I made it to only a few shows, and a bunch of showrooms (shout outs to Nahmias, Salomon and Beach Brains amongst others – lots of friends, lots of fun). However, the main reason I’m in Paris however was to see Veronique Nichanian’s last show for Hermès. Held at Palais Brongniart, the setting was a perfect fit to end almost four decades at the head of menswear. An incredible show of recut and reimagined house classics. Even sneaking 10 classic pieces from past collections into the mix. (I was dying that I wasn’t able to make it to the re-sees). Taking her final bow, we were then greeted with a performance by Paul Weller to celebrate late into the night. What a night!
Between coffees and bagels at Days in the 2nd, running into everyone around Le Perle, the sculpture like presence of discarded xmas trees in the street, and nights at the piano bar La Connetable in the Marais; I was chasing up every artist friend who calls Paris home, and catching the metro from gallery to gallery.
This trip I was determined to spend as much time as I could seeing galleries and shows I’d been saving and keeping my eye on. Highlights included: Gerrard Richter at Foundation LV; Edward Weston and Tyler Mitchell shows at La MEP; and Raymond Pettibon and Philip Guston shows at Musee Picasso.
Other non art/fashion related highlights of the week included the vans party hosted by SZA at Lapérouse; seeing my friends in Youth Code (LA) play a chaotic show to a full house; and vegan bakery sweets I only ever eat in Paris.
I love the melting pot that is Paris. The people you meet and run into; worlds colliding, subcultures melting into each other. I’m always looking forward to coming back, even sometimes before I’ve even left.
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