February 06 2021 – Sam Brightmore
An Insider's Guide to the City of Love
Although last year meant we missed a few key buying trips, we were lucky enough to still have visited Paris this time last year, it is always a favourite trip to make, Paris is the whole package, arguably one of the most stylish cities in the world! Although our A/W21 shows & appointments will mostly be virtual this season, we wanted to take a look back and reveal a few of our favourite haunts.
We are extremely time efficient while travelling and ensure each day is filled with buying appointments and attending shows, as such we are always on the move. Spot stylish Sam waiting for the train to take us to Who’s Next; one of the biggest trade shows in Paris. Pictured above are Sam, her daughter Phoebe and Lisa Ispani, founder and designer of Tallulah & Hope; we are so excited to reveal S/S21 to you all very soon! We merged business with pleasure here and managed to schedule a meeting at our favourite restaurant in Paris, Café Ruc.
We had booked to stay at Hôtel Les Deux Gares, conveniently located between the Eurostar and metro stops of Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est. This exquisite maximalist hotel opened in October 2020, and was designed by bottega muse, Luke Edward Hall.
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Luke Edward Hall was inspired by interior designers such as, Madeleine Castaing & David Hicks. He describes the hotel aesthetic as:
"...the home of a collector, a bohemian Parisian who has opened his house and started taking guests."
We are inspired by the playful mix of pattern and colour combinations with our favourite design choice being the mix of periods. Luke Edward Hall took vintage pieces from French and English markets to create this aesthetic. On our agenda was a trip to Clignancourt Flea Markets!
We took notes from local design and fashion guru Vincent Darré, who wrote an article on how to navigate the Flea Market scene. He even drew a beautiful map for buyers in search of unique vintage gems. We hoped to find more vintage Hermès scarves to add to our ever growing portfolio of work. Our Buying Intern, Nicole Morrison created a mood board for us, ahead of our trip.
At bottega we stay grounded by looking back for inspiration and find ways to create the bottega lifestyle in a new world. During times when we may feel disheartened we take comfort in knowing that cities like Paris, are still there, waiting to be explored.
