while in brussels, i was told my cousin from montpellier had to drive back to his place. what ended up happening is that i caught a ride with him and took an unexpected trip to paris. this was my second time this year in the land of baguettes, and my stay was even shorter than the last, yet still jam-packed with fun. i knew that it was menswear fashion week and even though this was excessively last minute, i sent out one or two emails to see if i could have the privilege of attending a show. assuming that this was the longest of longshots, i was jumping on my bed when i found out that my name would be on the list, at the door, damir doma, no way!

i walked up the steps leading out of the metro, not knowing in which direction to head next. being the sleuth that i am, i saw two young men dressed in all black, tattooed covered skin and slick hair who seemed like the right people to follow, but i also asked for directions just to be totally sure.

there i was, in front of lycee henri IV, waiting with the rest of them. them being some of the most fashionable people in the world. i quickly locked eyes with a fellow montrealer, stylist cary tauben, and he greeted me with a quick “hey gurl” and a kiss. just beside him was bryanboy rambling loudly, even though his clothes were loud enough for the both of them. street style photographers, like caroline blomst of stockholm streetstyle (who i in turn streetstyled here), were every which way snapping photos of the well dressed, dapper crowd. i hadnt even seen a show yet, but i was already wrapped around how magical this all was. to me this what fashion is all about and why i think people are drawn to it in the first place. i joined in on the fun, taking my own street style photos.

as i really wasnt sure what to expect, when entering the very beautiful private school’s center courtyard i was blown away by how majestic it all looked. the music came on, which was minimal but captivating, allowing you to really focus on the pieces being presented. especially when paired with the venue- it sort of gave off this hogwarts vibe.  the show was amazing. the pieces were structured but at the same time, very loose so nothing seemed to stuffy but still had its class. the models heads were decorated with structured caps (also given away as a goodie) or fringed blankets. i really did like the fringed blankets which i found to be reminiscent of tuaregs from the desert, but i thought they looked a bit heavy for a spring summer collection when wrapped around the head with a longsleeve coat. maybe im saying this because its 40 degrees outside right now but even damir doma knows its not about being practical (in place of his new line presented at berlin fashion week- SILENT) i really appreciated the details in his designs. for example the placement of buttons; on the shirts, there was just one button apparent up top and the rest were hidden. also in one of the very last looks, the button is placed higher up so that there is a nice fold in the blazer when closed. watch the whole show here or a video bryanboy took posted below, as he was seated just a few feet away from where i was.

this was just the beginning of my fun at this paris menswear ss11 fashion week! as i was leaving the building, i was reunited with jean paul from manila and gabriel from paris who i had made friends with outside just prior. we got to meet damir doma which was nice. following that, more people were taking streetstyle photos, and we then also added to our list of friends, a pair of twins and 3 more parisians. from that moment, we were practically inseparable- we went to mcdonalds together and walked around paris all night long!

i ended up not leaving right away the next morning but rather stayed a bit to see a couple more fashion shows (posts coming soon). and i wasnt the only one who had a lot of fun at their first parisian fashion week. read about galahad from hapsical blog’s first experience. i think he describes every detail so perfectly and encompasses exactly how i felt as well.