novelties guide

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PARISIAN
GENTLEMAN
Paris
From the historical point of view, Paris has always
been the tastemaker of men’s fashion.
The journalist and fashion “guru” Hugo Jacomet
discovers, in his latest work, not only the
cornerstones of the French flair but also the
craftsmanship temples preserving its essence.

Text by: ANDRÉS PUCH

Paris is synonymous with culture and art, with an

irrepressible “joie de vivre” and a perpetual spring
season and, of course, with many other things that
have made the French capital the Mecca of style.
The City of Light, so open to avant - garde, new
ideas, and to everything which makes the world
a more beautiful place, has created, over time, an
unmistakable aesthetic code exuding the brilliant
synthesis with its eventful history. Since the early
XIX century to present days, the most illustrious
artists representing various human arts, from dan-
ce or music to architecture and design, have left
their footprints in Paris. This confluence of artists
and geniuses finds its best expression in haute cou-
ture. The great fashion houses are flooded with
paintings by Picasso and Mondrian, the influence

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Parisian style
is defined by
a complex
mixture of
sobriety and
discretion
with a ground-
breaking touch
depicted in
every detail of
any Parisian
garment

of literature by Cortazar and Hemingway, the ti-

meless elegance of Truffaut’s movies and with the Page 70. The lightest jacket in the world, only weighing
400 grams, designed by Fansanceso Smalto in 1975.
crepuscular beauty of Bertolucci’s “Last Tango”. Page 71. On the top: An orange shoe Corthay
Without any doubt, much of the personality of photographed next to the Eiffel Tower. On the bottom:
Lorenzo Cifonelli working at his cutting table. On this
fashion icons like Chanel, Dior and Yves Saint page: the artisan production process of Maison Bonnet
Laurent resides in their ability to combine the ar- glasses. Left: Paul “Paulus” Bolten finishing a leather
tistic and cultural inspiration residing on the banks hat in his workshop. Following page: a workshop
belonging to the shirt maker Charvet located on the
of the Seine River with the unique idiosyncrasy so second floor of his renowned Parisian establishment. In
typical of the “Rive Gauche” boulevards, the mi- this studio, every customer has the possibility to be the
part and parcel of the shirt making process so that his
litant Bohemianism of Montmartre and the Latin shirt would become a second skin.
Quarter or of the imperial splendour embellishing
Champs Elysees and the “Golden Triangle”. The
classic and the avant-garde in a never-ending con-
trast, poles in contraposition, seemingly in strife,
create between the independent workshops and
the little-known studios, forcing their way through
thick and thin, and the boutiques located at the
Montaigne Avenue a dialogue which makes Paris,
in today’s globalised world, a city whose “charm”,
just as the voice of Yves Montand or Claude
Nougaro, will always be different when compared
with others. This undeniable personality, a certain
flair written in capitals, are not only the heritage
created on runways and in big fashion houses, but
instead it is the fashion brand which gives style
to its cafés, streets and “promenades”. As it could

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On this page: three great creations belonging to the Parisian workshops: A Mellerio watch, one of the oldest jewellers in
the world; “Le Mouchoir de Monsieur” and “Madame Voilette” perfumes created by Jacques Guerlain as a wedding gift and not be otherwise, those who express this way of
La Forestière, “ the working jacket” created expressly by Leon Grimbert de Arnys for the architect Le Corbusier in 1947. understanding life and fashion the best, are the
An iconic garment which, over time, has become one of the emblems of “Casual Chic” dominating the streets of the City
of Light. Following page: : the prestigious tailor Marc de Luca in his workshop, riding boots by PLS and “The Ligne Parisian “gentleman”. Hugo Jacomet, the “guru”
2” lighter by S.T. Dupont. Charvet manufactures hand- made ties of exclusive designs and colours, more than 5000 new of men’s fashion, has dedicated them, to their flair
models each year.
and especially to the fashion studios, a magnificent
book with the title “Parisian Gentlemen”. Concu-
rrently with the dazzling, and partly fleeting and
unstable world of women’s fashion, Paris is one
of the international centres of masculine style. Far
away from the spotlight and the blinding flashes
of red carpets, a real Parisian man dresses with dis-
cretion and independence in boutiques and tailor
shops such as Old England, Cifonelli or Arny’s.
The shop windows of those temples of fashion
are the result of a tireless search for perfection and
refinement. In his work, featuring beautiful pho-
tographs taken by Andy Julia, Jacomet reveals the
secrets of big fashion houses and introduces the
most important artisans creating in the gala capi-
tal of today’s fashion. The author is proposing
a journey through emblematic marques such
Marc de Luca whose studio is located at “La
Place de la Madeleine”, workshops of artisan-
artists such as the shoemaker Paul “Paulus”
Bolten or the shirt-maker Charvet who makes

the sartorial tradition able to satisfy any de-

mand made by the most powerful magnates.
Perfumers, carpenters, landscapists, jewellers,
tailors, saddlers and a long list of teachers took
care of the fact that the word “impossible” did
not exist when satisfying the needs of their
his profession a religious matter. Jacomet pre- customers. This exceptional craftsman herita-
sents and explains to his readers the philoso- ge is inherent in the Parisian style. There is a
phy and the “savoir faire” of these artists who good reason for this singular tradition to have
Hugo Jacomet maintain and reinvent the style typical of the survived political revolutions, wars and rapid
the “guru” of great men who had created a kind of elegance social -economic changes which have taken
men’s fashion, connecting the Place Vendome with “boites” place in Europe since the fall of the Bastille.
where the stars of jazz “were exiled” at the Thanks to the collections and private orders,
has dedicated end of the 1950s. It is an aesthetics defined brands such as Berluti, Moynat or Smako
to this way of by a complex mixture of sobriety and discre- keep this legacy of art and sophistication ali-
understanding life tion with a groundbreaking touch depicted in ve. Names like Jacques Guerlain, John Lobb
and fashion the every detail of any Parisian garment. Possibly, or Mellerio, one of the oldest watch-makers
best a magnificent with this taste for the exceptional which was in the world, are part of an endless list which
book with the so typical of the 16th-century French courts, keeps constantly developing thanks to new
we cannot forget to mention that Leonardo young values, artists able to find new ways and
title “Parisian himself spent a season under the protection continue innovating so that a stroll through
Gentlemen” of Francisco I, who allowed Paris to maintain Paris is all a performance of style.

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