100th Anniversary of the Courcelles Store
It was in 1922 that Eugène Blanchard, son of the founder, opened the very first J.M. Weston boutique, at 98 boulevard de Courcelles, in Paris. At the same time, in Paris, the Roaring Twenties were in full swing, the Art Deco movement unfolded and James Joyce published his novel Ulysses in its entirety.
Still in business, Weston's historic boutique is now celebrating its 100th anniversary. And dons new clothes for the occasion: it has been completely redone, under the leadership of Olivier Saillard and his design studio. From the entrance, the artistic director of the House was inspired by the facade of the Jean Désert gallery, inaugurated by Eileen Gray herself, in 1922... Here, dark oak panels welcome visitors, while the he flag-bearing sign, hung on the storefront, indicates a W and subtly recalls the diagonal lines of the Hungarian point parquet. The same pattern is found on the door handles. All these crossovers set the tone for this new staging imagined by Olivier Saillard. True to his love of the workshop and craftsmanship, he has imagined displays inspired by the windows of the old Cairo museum. All around, the chairs, the sofa and the shoe tree take up the hammered lines of Alberto Giacometti.
To dress up this decor, artistic poems, inspired by the surrealist universe, were typed on a typewriter before being placed on a carpet, on a frieze, on the upholstery of the seats. The words, swirling like imaginary circles, invite all lovers of beautiful shoes to rediscover Weston's vocabulary.
