PARIS 2020
We spent last week in Paris for some R&D.
Here are a few of the places that raised our eyebrows.
L’Eclairreur
It’s hard to find the adjectives to do this project justice. L’Eclairreur’s flagship store, located a few steps away from Hermes on Rue de XX, is a series of moody, richly furnished and perfectly lit rooms filled with the world’s most highly sought-after and adventurous fashion, precious ceramics and glassware, jewels, and playful furniture. The vastness of the collection is on par with the best high-end fashion department stores in Japan, and the scale and opulence of this ‘boutique’ space – including a huge, perfectly appointed bar – defies belief. Visitors are in the hands of some of the most experienced people in the industry. It’s the fashion world’s Louvre.
Mokonuts
It’s nestled on a very unassuming strip in a listless and kinda out-of-the-way arrondissement, but Mokonuts is some of the best eating to be had in Paris right now. Every morning XX, a former XX from XX, creates a simple and completely delicious two-dish lunch menu based on what’s freshest at the market that morning, which, a few hours later, is presented to the packed tables in the small, very casual and warm blonde wood café by his unfailingly upbeat wife XX – a former XX who has lived in XX, XX and XX. Mokonuts is especially known for their melty, quirky cookies (enlightened students drift in all through lunch service to take a few emporter) so order these with your main to make sure you don’t miss out.
Lunch only.
Musée Yves Saint Laurent
Because the Marrakesh outpost is the more famous of the two YSL museums, the Paris one flies a little under the radar – which means visiting the designer’s former atelier in XX is a strangely intimate experience. The xx Foundation is committed to exhibiting works from the vast YSL collection, and the current exhibition based around the Mondrian dress from his 1965 collection is meaty. But the best part is Yves’ old atelier upstairs. There is something wonderfully unsettling about standing in front of the same mirror where the designer nipped, tucked and pleated some of the most defining garments in modern fashion.
Mamiche
The French won’t queue for much. But they will for Mamiche.
Mamiche’s glossy cinnamon roule with its perfectly spiced, warm stretchy dough, is what made them famous, but DO NOT FORSAKE THE CROISSANTS. They’re the best we’ve had – and we’ve had an alarming amount.
Jadis et Gourmande
In 2016, after a quiet meeting in a former theatre on Rue de Richelieu alongside a cup of hot black coffee, we were given one of the most perfect chocolates we’ve ever tasted. Since then, our lust for them has become borderline obsessive. The bad news is that there’s no way they will ever survive a trip to Australia. The good news is that this perfect Parisian boutique is not going anywhere. These are chocolates that will put an end to any silly notions you might have about the high quality of the chocolate you eat on a regular basis. Visit at your peril.
