Picturesque Paris

Just recently I took a trip to Paris where I attended Premiere Vision and was trend spotting; I had only been to Paris once before years ago, and had a very vague memory of the city. Going back I really appreciated the aesthetics of Paris, how the city mixes the old with the new. I loved the old architecture, the elaborate decoration on the buildings and the juxtaposition of materials. Places I particularly enjoyed visiting were Montmatre, Versaille, Louvre and the Clignancourt antiques market. Below are a sample of photographs I took during my visit:

In terms of trends, and things I noticed I really liked the the faded colours, especially the turquoise/blue egg shell hues and reds - and these combine together nicely. I discovered many treasures at the antiques market, mexican rugs, old iron gates, war posters, aged books and amazing vintage designer pieces. Whilst in Versaille where I visited Marie Antoinette's estate I was in awe of the rich, textured wallpapers, the large grand gold frames, marble floors and detailled ceiling corners.

Also whilst in Paris I was taking into account fashion and visual merchandising trends; the first of which I call 'Spontaneous Scribbles' - branching from the current and up-coming College Culture trend, examples I was seeing were street art, shop windows with hand-written style text (e.g. Collette and Louis Vuitton) and hand-drawn style motifs. Often seen in neon colours.

Next 'In Stitches' - I was observing a lot of embroided items in Paris; taken from the world of art and design, embroidery stops being just another embellishment, its personal, customised and full of attention.

'Saluting Military' - although the military trend has been around season after season for years, I was seeing a new take on the trend out in Paris. Taking the new Chanel jacket as the prime example, the jacket based on 18th Century military coat design was more embellished and glamorous then the designs we are used to seeing. The military trend was also seen a lot on people on the streets - the three major items I was seeing on the streets of Paris was Military coats, riding boots and satchel bags.

The final two major trends I noticed where both in terms of visual merchandising; firstly 'Swinging In' - reminiscent of the circus trend I saw a lot of products being hung and positioned on swings and hoops. This I have also noticed in this season's Louis Vuitton bag ads. The next is 'Casting Shadows' - I was seeing a lot of thin, sheer fabrics being used to create silhouettes and to cast shadows. I felt this created a romantic atmosphere with the creation of soft, blurred edges and the use of floaty materials.

The trip left me really motivated, and I now find myself going around shops and noticing trends from Premiere Vision and my own mentioned above. Watch this space for more updates.