Le Printemps c’est Paris or when Bettina Rheims sublimates the windows of a department store.
Paris, a certain art de vivre, indescribable chic and, above all, the international fashion capital of haute-couture and ready-to-wear. The famous Printemps Haussmann department store has chosen to pay tribute to the City of Light and its relationship with fashion through the event“La mode et ses images” until March 26, 2011. Photography, art, video and fashion intertwine to reveal their most beautiful representations well beyond the clichés through a mysterious and glamorous story.
Photo d'Eva Sakellarides
As a first step, Printemps is organizing a photography exhibition in the windows of its Homme store, featuring images byEva Sakellarides. This young French photographer is the talented winner of the 2009 Picto Prize for Young Fashion Photographers, and plunges us into the world of the character Léo.
La Photographe Bettina Rheims
Meanwhile, renowned skin photographer Bettina Rheims, in association with Serge Bramly, occupies Printemps’ windows and Fashion Café with the “Le Printemps c’est Paris” exhibition. Following on from their fabulous “Rose, c’est Paris” exhibition, the famous duo are at it again, showcasing fashion at Printemps by immortalizing the latest designer collections in Printemps’ most emblematic locations through their double work of photography and film.
Bettina Rheims - Valentino
They have devised a detective story that spans nine windows, with Printemps as the setting and a diamond-covered Eiffel Tower as the prize. This investigation into the heart of fashion is an opportunity to explore the world of nine designers through the photographer’s black-and-white eye: Ann Demeulemeester, Balenciaga, Chloé, Dries Van Noten, Jil Sander, Maison Martin Margiela, Marni , Nina Ricci and Valentino.
Fashion Café by Pouchkine
Serge Bramly’s film narrating the fiction is shown at Fashion Café Pouchkine in the store’s basement, a unique ephemeral restaurant celebrating Fashion Week. Until March 26, Fashion Café Pouchkine offers succulent pastries developed for top designers (Chloe, Marni and Dries Van Noten), as well as images of the Paris fashion shows on the big screen.
Bettina Rheims - Ann Demeulemeester
As you walk past the shop windows on boulevard Haussmann, the photographs follow one another like storyboards, with their surreal, cinematic influence. The aesthetically pleasing black-and-white images, a signature of Bettina Rheims’ style, seduce and captivate. These women – or rather, this multiple, almost unreal woman, whose different facets are so clearly visible – display a blend of innocence and seduction in a game in which fashion remains the hero and Paris the muse. As for the man, he’s never far away, a little in the background but very much present.
Bettina Rheims - Dries Van Noten
“In the spirit of the work we presented last year at the BNF, entitled Rose, C’est Paris, we imagined a detective story set in Printemps, with a diamond-covered Eiffel Tower at stake. Our heroine (Ana Beatriz Barros) slips onto the store’s rooftops at dusk: she seems to descend from the sky. Here she is on the premises, browsing the deserted shelves. All she has to do is help herself: the most beautiful dresses are at her disposal. A deck of cards reveals her mission: to steal a precious Eiffel Tower. But then an armed man in a black suit appears. Is he her accomplice? Will he betray her? And what if, at the end of the day, it was love that our heroine was about to discover in Spring…?” explains Bettina Rheims.
Bettina Rheims - Balenciaga
The Balenciaga woman is armed, conquering and in control of her destiny. She represents the quintessence of femininity seated on rose-covered steps, made of gentleness and strength. Could this be a nod to Rose, c’est Paris? The Edition bag in PVC and Damier embroidered leather, both in the window and on those famous steps, seems to be made up of multiple puzzle pieces from our detective story. The Ann Demeulemeester woman is conquering, almost warlike, with a hint of defiance in her eyes. She has just discovered her “mission” and still holds the cards.
Bettina Rheims - Chloe
The Chloe woman is adventurous and risk-taking yet elegant. Like a superheroine, she fights the sky above the Rotonde du Grand Magasin, with the Opéra Garnier in the background. In the window, a diamond-covered Eiffel Tower completes the strong references to Paris, dominated by a white parachute. Perhaps a Chloe dress?
Bettina Rheims - Jil Sander
The Jil Sander woman, in her brown wig and blue-and-white striped dress, is neither quite the same nor quite different in front of this visibly seduced man. Once again, the Eiffel Tower appears in the window, almost impertinently. Pink pumps catch our eye.
Bettina Rheims - Nina Ricci
The Nina Ricci woman has a rare elegance, all ruffles and apparent softness. She scours the empty shelves in search of her treasure, equipped with her flashlight and an annoyed look on her face. In the distance, an Eiffel Tower! But who is this little boy wearing sunglasses, ties and carrying a mask in his hands? The Dries Van Noten woman, wearing a blonde wig, is a femme fatale in her immaculate dress delicately adorned with yellow flowers. She’s no puppet, dominating a Cinderella mannequin missing a pump.
Bettina Rheims - Marni
The deceptively fragile Marni woman indulges in sweets at the Café Pouchkine in the arms of this mysterious man, while the sassy Valentino woman giggles and drinks champagne almost offered on this round sofa, surrounded by shoes in an outfit of rare delicacy. The man is far away, his memory in a painting. But who is this man?
Bettina Rheims - Maison Martin Margiela
At last, the quest comes to an end. The victorious Maison Martin Margiela woman has found the Eiffel Tower under the rotunda in a white man’s shirt and stiletto heels, and prefers to slip away with her booty.
This Printemps, c’est Paris exhibition is an opportunity to enter the dreamlike world of skin photographer Bettina Rheims, blending it with the world of fashion designers. What better tribute to Paris.
Photo credits :
Eva Sakellarides with the courtesy of Printemps
Bettina Rheims with the courtesy of Printemps
Printemps, 64 boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris
Marie-Odile Radom
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
