Jason Stone of NYC a Paris brilliantly points out the scariness of the Le Bon Marche Christmas windows today. I was in the neighborhood this evening, so decided to see for myself. Sure enough. C.R.E.E.P.Y. So creepy, in fact, that I had a tough time deciding what picture to use here, (I wish the one of a cat torturing another cat by stretching him like an accordion had come out--so. weird.) but I decided to go with this lovely, Christmasy-inferno one.
The subversive thing is, each window looks okay at first glance, and it’s only when you look closer that you see the creepy touches. (Like in the photo above, there are these glistening black sacks dropping from the sky that look like they are about to hatch Gremlins.) Petite Anglaise posted Tuesday about the "cheeky naughtiness" of the Christian Lacroix designed windows at Printemps, which makes them entertaining for adults as well as the children. I’m all for wit and subversive humor, so I’m looking forward to seeing the Printemps displays, which hopefully wont remind me of my recurring childhood dream where my Barbie doll came to life. (Could have been a fun dream if she talked, but she always was mute. And looking like she wanted to kill me.)
My curiosity piqued, I decided to cross the Boulevard Saint Germain on my walk home and check out the windows of the Louis Vuitton by Les Deux Magots. I had read a write-up in French Elle called "Le Pere Noel Se Fait La Malle Vuitton"* about how a Swiss artist called Ugo Rondinone had been commissioned to design the holiday windows and how, basically, it wasn’t going to be for the kids.
Sure enough, the clothes are hanging on these bare trees made of shards of glass that evoke the beginning of The Talented Mr. Ripley. Elle magazine calls it poetique. Okay. But the thing is, it’s COLD and GRAY and WET outside. I don’t want poetique. I want a little color and warmth. Candy canes and sugerplum fairies and bon bons that dance. But most of all, I’d like to see some elves please. Would it be too much to ask to give an American girl an elf?
*hard to translate the title of this article, since, like most titles of American fashion magazines, it’s basically just a meaningless play on words.
Pere Noel=Santa; fait la malle=to take off/to beat it; malle=trunk. (Get it? The famous Louis Vuitton logoed trunks?)
And now that I’ve shocked and amazed you with my mastery of French fashion magazine headline deciphering, and also since we’re talking about store windows, I have to remind you of this. And point you to today’s French-Word-A-Day.
Interesting post. FYI - Your link to Petite Anglaise is not working.
Posted by: Laurie | 04 December 2004 at 05:06 AM
Just found this blog... interesting.
You missed the main joke in the title "le pere noel se fait la malle vuitton"
"se faire la malle" does mean, to take off, but "se faire XXX" means to have sex with XXX... hence the fact that this wasn't for children...
Posted by: A reader | 13 April 2005 at 06:44 AM