Final stop on the mens european circuit is Paris Fashion week and boy it was a busy one! 15 brands visited, 5 shows and a Stella Artois x GQ private dinner.
Paris is always a joy in summer, amazing shows, great brands, and all the amazing attractions Paris has to offer!
A short flight from Milan i landed in Paris ready for business! Staying at the Hotel West end. This luxurious boutique hotel is located in the heart of Paris, next to Avenue de Champs-Elysées. It has a stylishly decor and is uniquely furnished. Breakfast was included every morning in your room which i enjoyed on my private balcony over looking the Paris rooftops.
I had 4 days in Paris and had a very hectic schedule meeting brands like Eytys, Axel Arigato, Maiso Kitsune, APC and Dries Von Noten. As usual i had planned out my schedule to the point making sure i was going from one appointment to the next with limited travel in between. As usual it didnt work out! Meetings changed, rescheduled etc meant that i walked on average over 12km a day, 10-15 subway journeys and all in 30 degrees heat!
To combat the stress of all the appointments i always make sure i am finished by 6pm each night, that way i got to actually experience Paris! each evening i would try and visit as many tourist attractions as possible with before 9am when i started or after 6pm, that way also avoiding the crowds!
Stella Artois x GQ Dinner
I ended the week with an amazing dinner with Stella Artois. Hosted at Jean Imbert’s restaurant L’Acajour in Paris, the dinner was result of collaboration between Imbert and Paris-born, Australian-based chef Guillaume Brahimi.
The culinary giants created a one-off menu that featured dishes such as tartare of sea bass finger lime, caviar, smoked oyster cream; and Brittany lobster served with string beans, grapefruit, Parisian sprouts and glazed with Stella Artois caramel.
Of course, being a Stella Artois event, i enjoyed glasses of the Belgian beer alongside each delicacy, with each course designed to complement the flavours of the refreshing brew.
Top Tips
Le Relais de l’Entrecôte - A classic Parisian institution famed for its steak-frites and secret sauce.
Im not exaggerating when i say that having a bad meal in Paris is a crime. And it’s even worse if you have to queue for a bad meal. But thankfully the notorious Le Relais de l’Entrecôte doesn’t fall into the ‘bad meal’ camp. Not at all. To beat the queue however, be there fifteen minutes before opening or for the second evening sitting, around half past nine.
Once you’re in and have stopped feeling smug about getting in, tell the brusque waitresses (dressed in quasi French maid’s outfits) how you want your steak cooked – there is no menu. Within minutes, you are presented with a walnut salad with a classic, tangy dressing. Then the pièce de résistance: entrecôte, wheeled to your table on a silver trolley, which the waitress will proceed to cut, divide onto plates and spoon with the magical sauce (more on that later). Then super thin and perfectly crisped frites, also spooned straight onto your plate. But what draws the throngs to this three-address Parisian institution, is the universal second helping of steak. So a second ceremonial wheeling out, cutting and spooning with sauce once the first round is devoured. A carnivore’s cloud nine basically.
Kilo Shop- Vintage Clothing store
The Kilo Shop concept is simple: choose it, weigh it, buy it. Everything in the store—jeans, furs, accessories, you name it—is color-coded according to its value, and the final price is a function of the weight of the items per color group. It’s a fun place to shop if you love fashion, and even more fun if you love math.
I picked up 5 pairs of linen pants for 30 euros!! think tactically when purchasing and think light!
Address: 125 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris
@kiloshopfrance
