Shopping Guide to Spanish Fashion at the Opera-Châtelet in Paris
Your starting point is boulevard Haussmann with its two kilometre plus stretch of banks and shopping centres. We begin in Galeries Lafayette, the biggest department store in the Western world. Retail corners here include Hoss Intropia, with essential garb for trendsetting urbanites, and promoted this spring/summer season by the beautiful Spanish actress María Valverde. In another corner is Pura López with feminine footwear in seductive designs, excellent materials and top-notch comfort to boot. Also represented here is another Spanish classic, Adolfo Domínguez, who coined the phrase “wrinkles are beautiful” back in the 1980s, and still today advocates a comfortable, practical style for men, women and children. His Paris boutique is relatively close, at 2, rue de Catinat.
Leave Galeries Lafayette and head for the Stradivarius store at 58, rue Chaussée d’Antin. There you will find the collections of the flagship of the Inditex group, with its imaginative and informal style.
Return to boulevard Haussmann and at number 54 enter one of two Mango shops in the city, with ultra-feminine garments. On to 50-58, rue Caumartin to enjoy the designs of Loreak Mendian, which started out as part of San Sebastian’s underground scene, making T-shirts, and is now a global force in streetwear.
On to boulevard des Capucines, and number 6 is the location of the second Mango store with the latest trends for women today, like Scarlett Johansson and the Cruz sisters who embody the brand’s spirit. Heading up the street, past number 14 onto 18, where Amancio Ortega’s Zara has one of its many shops in the area; others can be found at 2, rue Halévy 2, 40, boulevard Haussmann, 44, Champs Elysées, 45, Rennes, 53/59, Sévres and 109, rue St. Lazare. On to place de l’Ópera, this has one of the world’s most beautiful buildings: Palais Garnier, which was built by Charles Garnier between 1861 and 1874, on the orders of Napoleon III.
The same square is home to a spectacular Desigual store, with no less than 2,500 sq m., which showcases the brand’s unmistakeable mould-breaking prints. On to avenue Opéra, where Majorcan footwear brand Jaime Mascaró has a shop at 38, with Mediterranean-style shoes in top-class materials, ideal for the long walk ahead.
At number 4 on the same street, more Majorcan shoes await you at Carmina Shoemaker, a brand created more than a decade ago which offers a good selection of footwear of exquisite and above all, traditional designs: legend has it takes 20 days to make each pair.
A stone’s throw from Carmina’s is the Louvre and the second on the left is none other than rue Saint-Honore, where, at 264, Castañer sells its legendary espadrilles: no wonder Yves Saint Laurent fell in love with them and that they were awarded the Gold Medal in Fine Arts.
Next door at 266, is the unmistakeable universe of Tous, with its jewellery, watches, bags, eyewear, fragrances, fashion and cosmetics. Recently, its signature teddies have taken on three dimensions in the shape of a “Bubble Bear”.
A bit further on at 316, the colourful prints and sophisticated patchworks of Custo Barcelona have their own dedicated space. The chic romanticism of Bimba & Lola has arrived at number 350, rue Saint-Honoré. Finally, at number 352, Uno de 50 is about to open its first shop in Paris. After much success in Spain, the brand is expanding abroad with Concha Díaz del Río, now making limited editions of each of its fun, original fashion jewellery.
At 14, rue Faubourg-Saint Honoré, the city’s busiest street, bustling with couture boutiques and vibrant shop window displays, you will find one of Camper’s shops in the French capital. Its original shoes and unmistakeable sneakers with their original soles are all the rage with Parisians. The brand has two more shops in the area, the first at 10-12, rue Mogador and the other at 20, rue de l’Arbre Sec, 20. And the brand is not stopping soon there will be a Camper Toðer shop designed by Tokujin Toshioka.
Not far from Saint Honoré, on the perpendicular rue de la Sourdière, Josep Font – one of Spain’s most international designers – has a very special Parisian shop which sells not only his fascinating ready-to-wear, but also his dazzling bridal collection.
Source via Fashion From Spain
