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A believer in the importance of examining the relationships, equations and dependencies between architecture and fashion, Mexican-born and Paris-based architect Jorge Ayala recently opened the first concept store for his eponymous fashion label in the French capital as a continuation of his investigations. In addition to being an analysis of how the concept of retail space can be an extension of sartorial creativity, the store also questions how the shopping experience shapes consumers’ emotional and intellectual reactions to a fashion brand.

By enveloping its own visitor within a décor that reproduces the patterns and shapes of its collection’s garments and accessories in wallpaper prints, light fixtures and projected films, the architecture and fashion present in the Jorge Ayala Paris store highlight (either individually or through their dialectic relationship) how behaviour and taste can be constructed by financial imperatives. And as an elegant critique about how the fulfilment of the mind goes beyond empirical reactions to style, ultimately Ayala’s concept store is a successful educational exercise that dethrones established notions of trade marketing, brand adoption and commercial identification.

Jorge Ayala Paris is open Monday to Sunday, 11:00 to 19:00 at 20 Passage Dauphine, 75006 Paris. For more information, visit www.jorgeayalaparis.com.

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If the collection incorporates conceptual and physical elements from faraway countries such as rare skins, geological gems, the animal geoglyph motifs from the Nazca Lines, and traditional Peruvian needle-punched horizontal stripes, the results couldn’t be more sophisticated: silhouettes are slim and clean silhouettes, garments are crafted from noble materials, and an array of stylish accessories complements the looks.
Luxurious fabrics are ubiquitous throughout the collection and include mohair and huarizo (an alpaca-llama crossbreed) in suiting; double-faced vicuña in robes; and cashmere (sometimes blended with silk) in evening double-breasted overcoats, reversible coats, blousons and gloves, or in hand-knitted strips that resemble fur. In addition, dégradé silk is used for evening suits worn over micro-checked and striped shirts, while lounge pants, T-shirts and sweatshirts feature artisan crochet stitch detailing; and a range of scarves made from silk twill incorporate subtle patterns such as chevrons, stripes, and herringbone.

As has become expected of Louis Vuitton, opulent and textured furs and leathers abound: shearling panels are used in a reversible zip-up sweater, chinchilla-lined silk is detailed with heat-sealed zippers and seams, and a windbreaker made from python skin is finished with a calf-leather hood. Equally, accessories and footwear incorporate innovatively treated and patterned skins: a Derby city shoe comes in silver-mirrored calfskin, grained nubuck or crocodile; a city ankle boot-hybrid uses glazed calf with a padded nappa ankle; and rubberized leather is used for the trimming of bags, a predominant accessory offered in a comprehensive range that includes holdalls, totes, messengers, trolley bags, duffles, folios and hybrid backpacks.

And confirming the desirable social status that Louis Vuitton commands, the collection comprises more economical objects that stress the brand’s identity in the form of accessories and jewellery pieces: every look in the collection comes with sunglasses with coloured and mirrored lenses; whereas necklaces, rings, and lapel pins inspired by South-American geology incorporate gems and stones such as crystal, quartz, amethyst, ionite, agate and jasper.

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Designer Woo Young Mi adopted Paris as her sartorial home and the location for her eponymous label after showing a collection there in 2002, and following a successful career in Seoul developed initially on her own and later in collaboration with her sister Woo Jang Hee. In just over a decade, Wooyoungmi garnered a series of important accolades within the international fashion industry, including being made a full member of the French fashion association La Chambre Syndicale in 2011, and developing a network of 46 prestigious retailers that sell their creations in 17 countries spread across the globe.

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Drawing inspiration from the work of American painter Mark Rothko and his role in the Colorfield Painting art movement, BWGH explored how the gradation of shades of blue could be effectively applied to sports materials such as suede, mesh and bouclé knit. Throughout the creative process, Obadia and Hassan paid close attention to the adroit balance of tones in the smallest of details as evident in the careful choice of blues for the mottled laces. The collection, which was launched in stores worldwide this month, comes as a pack of accessories that includes a backpack and a limited-edition skate deck.

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A panel of fashion journalists, stylists and buyers will put together a shortlist of 10 contestants, which will then be scrutinised by eight creative directors from within LVMH: Nicolas Ghesquière (Louis Vuitton), Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld (Fendi), Humberto Leon and Carol Lim (Kenzo), Phoebe Philo (Céline), Raf Simons (Dior) and Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy). Delphine Arnault (LVMH director and founder of the scheme), Jean-Paul Claverie (advisor to Bernard Arnault and head of corporate philanthropy for LVMH) and Pierre-Yves Roussel (LVMH fashion group chairman and CEO) will also be involved in the selection process.

In addition, LVMH will award three fashion graduates €10,000 each, as well as a one-year post in the design studio of an LVMH brand. Nominations opened today at lvmhprize.com and close on 2 February 2014. The winner will be announced in May 2014.

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“This is the first spatialization of Kris Van Assche’s aesthetic,” says architect Hugo Haas of Ciguë, “so he was understandably apprehensive at the start. Together we defined the key aspects of the design: contrasts, black-and-white palette, angled shapes and so on. In a way, the interior reflects his design sensibility of controlled precision and his destabilization of classic forms. ‘Sharp brutality’ was the term we came up with to describe that sensibility.”

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