Neckwear fantasy – Maison F Paris
Have you ever experience the moment of ‘Butterflies in your stomach’? I think it could happen in various circumstances from meeting someone that you are very fond of, to making a lifetime achievement that you have never think of nor expected with an impeccable outcome. To me, such moment happened to me one day when I was spending my relaxing afternoon in the artistic neighborhood in Paris, the ‘Carré Rive Gauche’ neighborhood on the left bank, surrounded by unique and interesting art galleries and specialty boutiques, but the actual ‘butterfly’ moment was happening in a chic and understated boutique lying on Rue de Verneuil, and it did involve ‘butterflies’.
Welcoming by a series of handsomely crafted butterfly-like bowties and neckwear in Maison F Paris up front from the photography wall to the stunning table display, feels like opening a fashionable fairytale story book that your mother (or granny) reads you by your bed at night, intriguing, mesmerizing and utterly stylish. I was instantly greeted by Mr. François-Régis Laporte, Founder, designer and the soul of the brand, his warm smile, energetic and passionate spirit with immense modern Parisian chic instantly connects me with his creations and aesthetic. Having his study in the renowned l'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, and, devoted his youth as image consulting for some of the prestigious fashion houses, and in 2004, meeting up Mr. Alain Gossuin to establish a new mens fashion brand Gossuin before founding his own luxury neckwear brand in 2011.
The thing that intrigues me about this passionate young French designer is the fantasy that he puts into his neckwear creation, the butterfly-like bowtie in particular, is truly innovative and chic, thanks to the intelligent use of fabric, and, the creative shape of the bowties, one can literally visualise a hundreds of beautiful butterflies that are flying around in his humble universe, a perfect example such as ‘Ailes de Papillon’, ‘Sirène’ and ‘Ailes de Libellule’, with the sumptuous use of luxury fabric from jacquard and twilled silk, elegant and timelessly chic pattern and palette, from mid night blue mini plaid to cocktail-hour pearl white and black, each piece of the creation is exquisite and well-made, a genuine interpretation of the discerning eyes on detail of François-Régis, and his love of creating the one-of-the-kind neckwear with his distinctive, laser-focus vision.
Apart from his beautiful bowties, another thing that caught my eyes, are the artistic boutonniere for the jacket, my personal favorite is his "Oeillet Chaîne” series, a couture-like finishing of the floral, adding the intelligent design of using magnets behind (instead of the conventional pin) to hold the boutonniere on the lapel in a much convenient and smart way; The “Aimantée Papillon“ series is also noteworthy, that you can almost feel that there’s a beautiful butterfly is flapping their wings on the lapel of your jacket, thanks to the multi-layer fabric design that captures the beauty of a butterfly flying in motion.
After all, you may experience your butterflies moment not only in your stomach, but right above at your neck or even on your chest, in a more stylish and modern Parisian way.
Image courtesy of Maison F Paris.
http://www.maisonf.com/index.html