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In this age of mass luxury, the new luxury is having something as individual as you are. This trend can be seen in immensely popular offerings ranging from customized Chanel handbags to Nike’s design-them-yourself AF25 basketball shoes.
With its rich tradition of artisanal savoir-faire, Paris is a mecca for those in the market for something absolutely unique, be it shoes, suits, accessories or even perfume. On the following pages, we profile several of the capital’s bespoke masters; some carry on businesses started more than a century ago; others are relative newcomers. But all are passionately devoted to their craft.
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Guerlain
“The strongest olfactory
associations are forged
before age eight.”
Sylvaine Delacourte leans forward, strikes a faux-conspiratorial pose and whispers, “I have ways to make people talk.” This tall elegant blonde may look like a Bond girl, but she isn’t interested in wresting confessions from international villains. What she wants are your childhood memories, insights into your personality, a snapshot of your psyche. Once she has gleaned this information and more, she will distill it into a fragrance that is yours and yours alone. Bearing the name of your choice, it will be bottled in a magnificent 500ml crystal flacon handcrafted by Baccarat.
Launched in 2004, Guerlain’s custom-made perfume service is perfectly in keeping with the tradition of this venerable maison. Founded by Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain in 1828, Guerlain has created more than 700 scents, many of them for individuals or special occasions. Among the first was an eau de toilette made exclusively for Balzac, who wanted something special to wear while penning César Birotteau. In 1853, Guerlain concocted Eau de Cologne Impériale for Empress Eugénie; it was the first of many for European royalty.
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Garbis Devar
"Luxury is a question
of culture, not money."
Call Garbis Devar an artist, an artisan, a man possessed by a mission. Just don’t call him a fashion designer. His timeless creations in fur and leather go beyond clothing—they are wearable works of art, combining what he calls “the world’s rarest and most beautiful materials, most talented craftspeople and best design.” And a price tag generally reserved for real estate.
Like all true luxury, the difference is not readily apparent to the uninitiated. A black knee-length men’s coat may at first look like velvet. Close up, you note its exceptional sheen and cashmere-like softness. But you’d be hard-pressed to guess the material: saga royal mink, shaved to a tenth of an inch. Each pelt must be flawless, given that any holes will show when it’s trimmed. Contrasting with the classic exterior is a Lyonnais silk lining printed with a colorful, Pop-Art heart pattern. Buffalo-horn buttons come from a WWII-era stock discovered in an old French factory. The buttonholes are even lined in suede. The coat is entirely handmade, a “colossal” task requiring a month of work. The price is reasonable by house standards: €50,000.
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Charvet
“We try to adapt
to the client,
to help him express
his individual taste.”
Anyone who thinks that men don’t like to shop has never been to Charvet. After only a few minutes in this Place Vendôme emporium, they immediately get that kid-in-a-candy-store look. And no wonder. There are big glass bowls filled with silk-knot cuff links, an endless array of pocket squares, shelves of soft suede slippers…. Then there are the ties. Racks and racks of these woven-silk beauties. Shiny ties. Matte ties. Ombré ties. And the colors! Surely not even the rainbow has this many hues.
“We like to give customers a choice,” says Anne-Marie Colban, who along with her brother now runs this Parisian landmark. That is the ultimate understatement. Take the elevator to the fifth floor, and your options increase exponentially. Here you enter the world of bespoke tailoring. Bolts of fabric line the walls of these wood-paneled rooms, and choosing among the grays, dark blues, blacks and charcoals is only the beginning. “Unlike Italian tailors, we don’t have any special style,” says Colban. “We try to adapt to the client, to help him express his individual taste.”
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Ernest Stern
“I still love what I do, and I feel like
I never worked a day in my life.”
When the French refer to someone as “un artiste,” Ernest Stern is the type of person they have in mind. Now 85, he left his native Romania, where he belonged to the Hungarian minority, when he was 20 years old. A leatherworker by trade, he did a stint with the Place Vendôme luxury house Pascal Morabito and later worked for the top names in the business, including Hermès and Goyard. He could easily have turned “Ernest Stern” into a prestigious brand, setting up shop on the rue Saint Honoré or some equally posh location. Instead, he preferred to reign over a modest little atelier hidden away in the southern end of the 15th arrondissement.
“In life, it is not a question of winning but of losing as little as possible,” he remarked in an interview at age 80. “With very little ambition and a lot of joy and happiness, you can get pretty far.”
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Atelier du Bracelet Parisien
“Crocodile remains the most popular,
but shagreen and frog skin
are also very hot.”
Love, they say, is irrational. That certainly seems to be the case when it comes to men and their watches. “It might seem a little crazy, but there are in fact a number of reasons why men are so passionate about timepieces,” says Yann Perrin, whose family runs the Atelier du Bracelet Parisien, a purveyor of custom-made watchbands. “The first is obvious: How many pieces of jewelry does a man wear?”
Perrin adds that while being a status symbol, a good watch is also a marvel of technology and precision, and the more men understand and appreciate how they are made, the more enthralled they become. “Of course, there’s also the sentimental value, as good watches are often passed down from one generation to the next.”
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Patou
“Just like men, perfume is
never perfect right away;
you have to give it time
to seduce you.”
“Couture perfume” is the way Jean-Michel Duriez, Jean Patou’s resident nose, refers to the company’s new bespoke offering. “Jean Patou was first and foremost a couturier,” he says. “Today, our custom-made scents keep his spirit alive.”
Patou launched his maison in 1914, and along with Coco Chanel went on to revolutionize the fashion world. He was the first to turn his stylized initials into a logo, created the twin set, introduced knitted swimsuits and pioneered sportswear. “During World War I, women had to run things while the men were away,” explains Duriez. “Chanel and Patou realized this and designed clothes for these newly active women.”
In 1925, Patou inaugurated his perfume line, and in 1929 created Le Sieur, the first unisex fragrance. “That was a long time before Calvin Klein put out ck one!” laughs Duriez. “Patou was very much in sync with his times, and Le Sieur appealed to men as well as to women of the day who wore suits, drove cars and smoked cigars.”
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Cadolle
“French women wear
special undergarments
because of the way
it makes them feel,
not for someone
else to see.”
Why would a woman buy a custom-made bra? It’s an obvious opening question, something to get the interview rolling. But it instantly strikes a nerve with Poupie Cadolle. “Women used to come to us because they wanted to add a luxurious touch to their wardrobe,” she says. “Now, they just want a decent product. Ten years ago, you could still find a good bra in most stores. Not today. Today they almost all have padding. They are badly designed, badly made. They are not comfortable, and the straps are terrible. All you get is a little bit of fabric they call a bra.”
Given that her great-great-grandmother, Herminie Cadolle, invented this particular undergarment back in 1889, you don’t dare argue with her. Some Asian manufacturers still turn out good bras, she concedes, and there is one German brand that she admires. But you gather that she would just as soon see all the rest burned.
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