Rive Droite connotes all that is rich, chic, and luxurious in Paris. Although the Right Bank is the sister to the Left Bank in that they form the two anchors for Paris haute couture, the difference is like that between classic Hollywood cinema (CHC) and the French new wave. If CHC is about the aesthetic of film as entertainment, French new wave is about the auteur or the image of the film as representative of the filmmaker who made it. Thus, by extension, Right Bank fashion is about the image of the brand while the Left Bank design houses can't be thought of as distinct from their designer. One cannot think Yves St. Laurent without imagining the prodigious man himself, yet Louis Vuitton can be thought of as a brand distinct from its head designer. This separation between The Left Bank and the Right Bank--the designer and the brand-- is of course not a universal. For instance, Coco Chanel distinctly chose the Right Bank as her home. What's more, the biggest designers have a store on the Left Bank and the Right Bank (Dior, for instance). However, there is a definite truth to the separation that even the French accept.

So, if you wish to shop on the Right Bank, don't be afraid to put on something a little more flashy than one is accustomed to seeing on the Left Bank and dive into a serious shopper's paradise on the Avenue Montaigne and the rue de Rivoli. Don't forget to stop by the newly opened Louis Vuitton megastore and headquarters on the Champs Elysee: it's impressive, luxurious, and most of all, crowded so you'll need to take a breather at Angelina's (rue de Rivoli) for the best hot chocolate in the world. Once the day of shopping is over, show off your new purchases at the richissisme clubs of the Champs Elysee.

The following photos were taken October 2005.

Publisher: infomat
InfoMat serves as a one-stop information source for international apparel, textile & accessories professionals. This is where retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and service providers interact with our network of over 350,000+ fashion companies. We make it easy to source, connect, compare, research and assess industry-wide business opportunities.
Web: www.infomat.com
Published: October 5 2005
Market: mens womens
Region: france
Industry: apparel accessories
Editor: maude bass-krueger

DISCLAIMER
Information in this report relies on sources including Trade Shows, Associations, News Releases, Government Reports and other public sources. Infomat can accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information or for loss or damage caused by any use thereof.