L’ECLAIREUR

One of the highlights of my Paris trip was being shown around the cult boutique L’eclaireur. They have six stores in Paris alone and are Farfetch’s biggest retailer; what sets them apart is that the stores are designed by artists, not architects. The Sévigné was designed by Studio Arne Quinze; with the interior made of layered cardboard, covered with silver car paint and laid next to television screens set in the material; the space certainly is unique. The walls are also interactive; pull of a leaver and a screen comes up to reveal a clothes rail beneath or a hidden mirror, designed so that every buyer will have a totally different experience when shopping here each time. In this store you will find every favourite from Celine to Givenchy to Haider to Ann, the buying is impeccable. Aside from the Demeulemeester, the furniture in the space was a particular highlight for me, I can’t remember which architect it was designed by, but the giant pony hair morphed couch deserves a space in my future home, I think. I’m looking forward to discovering the other five stores when I go back to Paris!

HALELUJA

 The first shop I noticed when I arrived on the streets of Brussels was Stijl. I had heard about this place and it certainly didn’t disappoint, stocking all favourite designers like Raf, Haider, and Ann; and not their most commercial garments, that have lost their excitement from the runway, like we seem to do here in London. It’s exciting flipping through the racks and makes you totally fall in love with design.
In London we could learn a thing or two from Sonja Noël; the razor sharp buyer with an eye for creative talent, that opened Brussels first fashion mecca, Stijl, 20 years ago. Last year Sonja opened a new set of doors, Haleluja. It’s impeccably designed space features hand picked designers from all over the world, creating sustainable garments, from ethically sourced cottons and silks to recycling.
 Sonja told me that as an entrepreneur you have to be bold and take risks, starting a new business takes years and years to build up and she’s ready for a new challenge. Halaluja is doing something truly revolutionary to fashion: proving that ethically sourced eco-friendly pieces are also desirable, contemporary and high fashion. After all, “sustainable clothes have to be desirable products, otherwise there’s no point in selling them.”
You can visit Haleluja on the Nieuwe Graanmarkt.

MARGIELA MOMENT IN BRUSSELS

Visiting the first ever Margiela boutique in Brussels was pretty special, every last detail was thought about and it was impossible to not want to explore everywhere. I wasn’t allowed to take photos of the staff or design team so just details had to do. I especially love the white painted window wipers on every pane, as well as the tabby foot carpeted walls. You can see the narrow stairs I was talking about, nearly tripping down and breaking my neck! At least I got to leave my mark alongside Jean-Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and Michael..

The Margiela boutique is situated on 114, Rue de Flandre, Brussels