The Hôtel Meurice Brings Back the Café Society Concept in Time for Loïc Prigent’s New Book
During Paris Art Week, the Meurice Hotel is bringing back the Café Society concept, where artists and writers used to gather in trendy Parisian bars, cafés and restaurants to think about the world.
After the great success of his collections, including his legendary and unforgettable book Passe-moi le champagne, j’ai un chat dans la gorge (Grasset), Loïc Prigent comes back with his highly-anticipated new book Mille Milliards de Rubans, in which he presents his vision of fashion history. This is the first opus of a series in which he explains the history of French and international couture, from the 19th century to the opening of Gabrielle Chanel’s first boutique in 1913. We follow the ins and outs of this French madness: the first great fashion designers such as Charles Frederick Worth, the first shopping celebrities like Empress Eugenie, the industry and the Singer sewing machines, as well as the beginnings of mass marketing and department stores. Both an essay and a story, this book tells Loïc Prigent’s own story where he reveals how what is considered superfluous becomes part of the bigger story.
In the iconic Bar228 of the Meurice Hotel, in a cosy, elegant decor made of rich leather and dark wood panelling – a reference to the English clientele who gave the Meurice its first hours of glory – Lavalley’s monumental frescoes, installed in 1807, depict rural scenes in Fontainebleau, echoing the gardens of the Tuileries. In this renowned bar, where Parisians settle into comfortable leather armchairs, lulled by the notes of jazz musicians, the writer indulged in a delightful conversation with Katell Pouliquen, where we came across the attentive ears of Inès de la Fressange, Claire Chazal, Roberta Haasner, Axel Wuest, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, and Crazy Sally.
Photo: Sheraz Debbich
