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Jennie Rhodes
Friday, 31 January 2025, 19:04
If the 'Gianni Versace. Retrospective', which opens to the public on 7 February at the Centro Cultural Fundación Unicaja in Malaga has given you a taste for haute couture, the next stop on your fashion journey could be Paris. A new exhibition that explores the dialogue between some of the museum's masterpieces and fashion in now open at the Louvre.
If you happen to be in the city, you could just catch the last day of Paris Fashion Week, which last year featured jeweller Elia Sánchez Ballesteros from Vélez-Málaga. Through her company Logana, her 'maxi jewellery' made Elia the first Malaga designer to feature at the world's biggest fashion event. In fact her designs were part of a show at the Louvre.
Now, Louvre Couture - Art and Fashion: Statement Pieces, features 65 designs and accessories from some of the world's biggest fashion houses and charts the history of fashion along with some of the museum's greatest masterpieces, from Byzantium to the Second Empire. The exhibition runs until 21 July.
Now you have set the scene, why not explore the French capital's most stylish 'arrondissements'. From 'les grands magasins' to independent boutiques, vintage stores and flea markets each one of Paris's districts has fashion at its heart.
As the iconic Coco Chanel, who dominated Parisian style for much of the 20th century, once said, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."
On that note, make sure to head to the centre of Galleries Lafayette to see the stunning glass dome created by Jacques Gruber and installed in 1912 by Alphonse Kahn and Théophile Bader.
After visiting the Louvre Couture exhibition, pop into Samaritaine, which is near the museum in the first arrondissement. Opened by Ernest Cognacq in 1870 on Rue du Pont-Neuf, it is named after the pump house built in the same area in the 17th century, which is turn is named after the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well in the gospel according to St John and like other department stores in the city, it is famous for its Art Déco and Nouveau styles.
Head over to the Rive Gauche - or the left side of the River Seine - for Le Bon Marché, completing the list of the French capital's iconic 'grands magasins' and the first of its kind to open in the city.
In 1852, Aristide Boucicaut realised that there was a place for a new business to offer shoppers more choice, so he and his wife Marguerite transformed a shop into what would be described as a 'cathedral of modern commerce'.
Of course, no designer retail therapy trip to Paris is complete without a trip to the elegant Champs Elysées in the eighth arrondissement, which starts at the Arc du Triomphe and ends at Concorde.
If haute couture isn't your thing then head to the fashionable Marais district in Paris's fourth arrondissement for hip boutiques, independent shops, vintage and secondhand stores and a chilled-out vibe.
Les Halles, which is also in the first arrondissement, is the place to go for high street chains. It started off as Paris's central fresh food market which closed in January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and park. In 2010 it reopened as a Westfield Forum des Halles and is conveniently connected to the massive Châtelet–Les Halles RER and metro hub.
Les marchés aux puces (the flea markets) are legendary in Paris. One of the best known and loved is the one at la Porte de Montreuil in the 20th arrondissement and is open on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Legend has it that if you look hard enough you can find designer and vintage items for as little as a euro.
A delightful Sunday morning market trip, with a mix of street stalls and independent shops selling clothes, accessories, food and homewares, is Rue Mouffetard in the fifth arrondissement. The best time to go is Saturday and Sunday morning when locals head there to stock up and catch up over brunch or lunch in one of the many cafés and bistros in the area.
And if you've really got a taste for fashion, you could always hop on a Eurostar to London to catch the Vogue: Inventing the Runway immersive exhibition at The Lightroom, which is conveniently near to Kings Cross (Eurostar terminates at neighbouring St Pancras). The exhibition explores the history of fashion shows from the early 20th century to the present day and runs until 26 April.
With daily direct flights from Malaga to Paris, this year is ideal to see the city doing what it does best: fashion. Whether you're channelling your inner Emily in Paris, looking for retail therapy or an excuse to visit the Louvre, head to the capital of European fashion.
Then if you've been inspired by what you have seen, but the high-end fashion is a little out of your budget, check out Apps like Vinted on your return for cheaper versions of some of the pieces you spotted on your travels.
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Jon Garay y Gonzalo de las Heras
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