Ten years ago, the thunder of Japanese fashion, with its great big black silhouettes, roared down Parisian runways, provoking a thirst for exotic aesthetics that has never quite been quenched. Though trends have evolved far from those rebellious looks of the mid-1980s, rag trade professionals continue to be titillated by designers who translate their cultural heritage into modern forms of western gear. Today the fashion world is witnessing another invasion, this time from Korea. Instead of rumbling down the catwalk with aggressive, anti-fashion modes of expression, three designers (all women of a certain age) are creating a quiet sensation with softer looks that for a young woman who’s worldly, yet fragile and vulnerable.
Interview: Billy Crystal on “Forget Paris”
The first year Billy Crystal struck out to make it in show business, he earned $2,000 and supplemented his income by working as a substitute teacher. He’s done better since. Continue reading “Interview: Billy Crystal on “Forget Paris””
les vacances…an unalienable legal right
France commentary, September 1995
Vacationing in France…sounds like a wonderful thing, right? Idyllic, like “a year in Provence” or winning the lottery. Well, almost. The concept could stand a reality check. Continue reading “les vacances…an unalienable legal right”
Lille, “Flanning” in Flanders
In an hour, you can be in another country. Lille, capital of French Flanders, has a distinctive Flemish feel that makes a visit “dépaysant” in the good sense of getting away from your everyday surroundings. And now that it is on the northern TGV route, it is closer to Paris by train than many Paris suburbs are by car. Continue reading “Lille, “Flanning” in Flanders”
Latin Quarter Walking Tour
Walking tour guidebooks are common currency in the tourism industry, but Thirza Vallois’ recent publication, “Around and About in Paris,” could qualify as an entertaining textbook. Vallois has lived in Paris for over 30 years and has a post-graduate degree from the Sorbonne. She claims to know Paris stone by stone and has read every book of note about its history and development. The following is taken from Volume One, which covers the first seven arrondissements. Continue reading “Latin Quarter Walking Tour”
Biking the Bois de Vincennes
It’s that time of year again, when 10-o’clock sunsets transform the capital into a peddler’s playground and cyclists from all around town make the pilgrimage to the Bois de Vincennes. Slightly larger than its counterpart to the west, it has all the trappings of a Parisian park – manufactured lakes, glitzy restaurants, racetracks, etc., minus the highbrow attitude that so unpleasantly reigns in Boulogne. In addition, there’s a 14th-century château, France’s largest zoo (also, alas, the most poorly maintained), a velodrome, stables, a floral park and much more. The single greatest drawback for a dirt rider is the topography. Although there are scores of intertwining dirt trails, the entire 2,300-acre park is flat – not a single steep descent.
Mary Holden, Paris to Black Mountain
Don’t you recognize Mary Holden? An American. Age 36. Twelve years in Paris. Three years back in North Carolina during which she has come back four times. Long-distance marriage to French animation artist, Jean-Luc. Two bi-cultural daughters. A half dozen odd jobs of varying levels of interest and pay. A succession of apartments and little pavillons. Enough frequent flyer miles to get to Hong Kong and back, Business Class. A deep love for daily Paris life and yet a gnawing alienation from both her indigenous and adoptive countries. “I don’t feel good over there and I don’t feel comfortable here. It’s confusing; there’s so much I miss wherever I am,” she admits.
Paris Fashion Homage to Givenchy
Next month French haute couture will lose one of its few remaining giants. The towering (6 foot, 6 inch) Hubert de Givenchy will take a final bow after his couture collection, then retire from a world he has gracefully dominated for more than 40 years. A perfectionist in cut and silhouette with impeccable taste impervious to radical changes in style, Givenchy is part of the old school of fashion, which believes first and foremost that clothes should beautify the woman. Having dressed many of the world’s most elegant women, including Jacqueline Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace and Audrey Hepburn, Givenchy is recognized by industry professionals, including his colleagues, as one of the world’s greatest designers.
Kids Stuff – Conquering the Louvre
For many parents, the Louvre is the final frontier. Its size, the crowds and the fear that children will be bored can be discouraging. But an outing to the Louvre can be great fun for child and parent. The key is diligent planning.
Pierre Salinger Remembers
Pierre Salinger was in town last month to promote his new book: “P.S. A Memoir,” published simultaneously in French and English. Happily, the event coincided with the 100th anniversary of Brentano’s bookstore, so the passage of some 30 million books and the publication of one new one were duly celebrated by a literary lunch at the Hotel Bristol on October 11, and an extremely successful book-signing at Brentano’s on the 14th. The dual publication is fitting for a man who has spent so much of his life in France and has been known to the French public as a kind of “voice of America” ever since he conducted a Kennedy press conference over 30 years ago and wowed the local press boys by addressing them in French.
Remembering Montparnasse’s Art Scene
In the early decades of the century, Montparnasse – named after the mountain home of Apollo and the muses – saw a concentration of artistic talent so vibrant that the quarter’s myth came to rival that of its ancient namesake. Struggling young painters and sculptors from all over the world were drawn to its ateliers. At dusk they filled the cafés, cadging drinks and boasting. If they were flush, they moved on to headier pleasures like a Dadaist play, a fancy-dress ball or a raucous supper at the Closerie de Lilas. But with World War II, the feast moved on, and today the neighborhood holds only echoes of old glory. Those seeking the essence of the 14th arrondissement will have better luck in the 7th, at the Espace Electra’s excellent “Les Heures Chaudes de Montparnasse.” Continue reading “Remembering Montparnasse’s Art Scene”