My favorite part about living in Paris is that you have to
really try to get bored. I’m almost convinced it is completely
impossible. My past few days were full of exploring, sightseeing and
exhibitions. With something new to discover always lurking around the corners
of my world here, I am kept consistently fascinated by the most exquisite city
in the world.
After
taking all of Saturday to recover from our night on Friday, I was all set to go
to the Mason & Object (which I later found out is pronounced May-zon and
Oh-jay, not May-sun and Ob-jekt… of course) trade show on Sunday. Trade shows
feature various vendors presenting their work to potential buyers or
independent stores with the hope that they will leave the show having several
orders placed. Being students, we are also invited to come to the shows at a
discounted rate. This particular show was for home goods and featured
everything from bedroom décor, to candles, to bathroom accessories. I was
instantly overwhelmed by the sheer mass of the trade show. I was expecting a
large venue, of course, but what I had in mind was a building comparable to the
size of a football field, not five football fields. The products being featured
were so much fun to sift through. All of the booths gave off the appearance of
being in separate boutiques, each one unique to the brand’s aesthetic. Two
hours, countless notes and many forbidden pictures later, we were completely
exhausted and convinced we had walked miles. We headed for home to complete our
homework on the trends we saw at the show, and how they relate to trends in the
fashion industry.
Our
next scheduled trade show is Texworld net week. Texworld is a German fashion
trade show being held in Paris that will be featuring textiles, fabrics,
patterns, color trends and everything new in trend in the industry for the
season. Our product development teachers, the owners, creators and designers of
the men’s wear line, Les Garcons are also the art directors for this trade
show. We discovered they love us as much as we love them when we were told how
well we would be taken care of at the show (those details will be continued…).
While we are there, all special treatment aside, we will be taking on the role
of Les Garcon’s assistants and interns and will be speaking to vendors about
the brand and placing sample orders to be mailed to the design studio. After
the orders are filled and the samples are sent, the boys will actually use some
of our fabric and textile choices in their next line. Thank goodness for no pressure.
The
group’s next excursion was to the Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs exhibit at the
Louvre. Happily for me, this excursion would also end my hunt for Mexican food
in Paris- a seemingly endless journey. I was told of a Chipotle not far from
school, and upon receiving this piece of information, we planned to go the very
next day after class prior to the LV/MJ exhibit. The burrito was just as
delicious as I remembered. My only grievance is that they only had brown rice.
Get over the health food bullshit, Parisian Chipotle, because guess what? Even
if the rice is brown, the burrito is still a million calories. After that, I
was publicly and relentlessly flogged by the Starbucks barista for not knowing
how to ask for my coffee beans to be ground in French. He had such little faith
in me in fact, that he even told me I could have it for free if I could figure
out how to say it in French. Bastard. After that, the woman peddling stamps at
the post office sighed at me every time I tried to communicate in Frenchlish
with her. I really need to learn how to tell people off in French- you know,
the really important phrases that make you feel better about yourself.
The
Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs exhibit was more than I could have imagined. It
began with the start of Louis Vuitton’s life and how the company came to be. It
featured some of the original trunks he created, before he even began putting
the now notorious LV trademark on his pieces. The exhibit progressed
chronologically, showing the advances he made in his trunks, followed by
fashion dolls from when the brand introduced clothing, then displayed amazing,
delicate gowns, customer logs and everything that gave the brand it’s amazing
reputation. Upstairs shows the brand after Marc Jacobs got his glittering hands
on the production. Runway shows were projected and played on loop, mannequins
were set up in staged rooms appearing ready for a photo shoot, and my personal
favorite piece was the bag that was a focal point in the documentary, “Marc
Jacobs & Louis Vuitton”. It is the bag that was made from pieces of older
bags, sewn meticulously together with countless hours of labor. Seeing it in
person from less than a foot away was quite a feeling. The exhibit took about
an hour to walk through, and is well worth the $8 entry fee (which is waved for
students!). I highly recommend going before it is over.
I
have been continuing to bike around the city for exercise and sightseeing, and
I feel like I am becoming more comfortable everyday with my surroundings.
Despite the rude people, I feel as if my understanding of French has gotten
better, and I can only hope that my French language courses will begin to kick
in soon. Wednesday night we went to the Eiffel Tower again, were I was able to
toast to my grandpa and dear friend’s birthdays with champagne and record
birthday messages to send to them. As always, we stayed out much too late and
had far too much fun for a weeknight. As the school week began to wrap up and
end with a long, four-day weekend, I decided that I couldn’t have my week
outshine my weekend, so the only solution I could see was booking a trip. So I
did. I purchased tickets to leave for Amsterdam in less than 48 hours. I will
be going with a friend in my group and we will be joining a group of about
eight other students from St. John’s. It will be a four-day/ three-night
excursion full of adventures only legal in Amsterdam. After all, according to
Oscar Wilde “Life is too important to be taken seriously.” So until I return,
as they say in Dutch, tot ziens!
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