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  • Essay / Perspective on the French fashion, perfume and wine industries

    The city of Paris is synonymous with fashion and style, but also the intellectual, artistic and political capital of France. It is the undisputed epicenter of French culture and perhaps the most romantic city in the world. This city of lights is home to many of Europe's most iconic monuments, including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame Cathedral and of course the Champs-Élysées. The museums here are known around the world and showcase hundreds of years of art and history. The famous works of Monet and Van Gogh can be seen all over the city and each beautiful creation is just as worth a visit as the iconic and immense Louvre. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The term luxury is inevitably synonymous in French. France has been known for many years as one of the most artistic countries, and it is obvious that fashion is not excluded. Some of the biggest names in haute couture in the fashion industry like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gaultier hail from the French capital. Although everyone's definition of luxury varies, some of the most significant aspects of luxury have traditionally been exclusivity, rarity and a level above the common. However, today, its changing consumerism and luxury is becoming democratized, and what was once inaccessible is becoming more and more available. Expensive and rare items aren't really a priority and certainly aren't enough to keep the brand growing. This force is actually in place for luxury brands to evolve with the tides, retaining their inherent mystique, while appealing to new definitions of wealth and a whole new pool of buyers. Visiting Paris is a romanticized dream of almost every traveler and fashion enthusiast. . I was no different. I always wanted to experience the luxurious life and spirited society of Paris. I had this chance during my study trip there as a master's student at MIP Politecnico di Milano. It was a dream come true as we planned to visit some of the most luxurious and elite places in Paris associated with high-end fashion, perfume and wine production. On the designated day, we all gathered at the airport and boarded our flight. We were all excited to experience the luxurious and aesthetically developed social life of Paris with critical information about different industries as part of our study tour. This enthusiasm never wavered and our experience throughout this study trip exceeded our imagination. Arriving in Paris, we attended a four-day introductory and orientation session regarding upcoming plans, programs, cultural observations, etc. This focus helped us understand the historical significance of how France as a whole and Paris specifically became the hub of high-end activities. fashion, perfumes and wines. Our first visit was to the Yves Saint Laurent museum followed by a visit to the Maison Louis Vuitton. A humble welcome and then a deep dive into the life and iconic pieces of Yves Saint Laurent was enlightening and very educational for many of us fashion enthusiasts. YSL was that extraordinary and rare powerhouse that some still remain – a designer whose work spanned decades and the changing world with them and those who responded to these changing times with clothes. The pieces he created for women are so ubiquitous today that it feels like they've always existedin their wardrobe. She was a woman, his wife – who today wore pants cut like a tuxedo, day and night, the belted mac, the safari jacket, the 1940s silhouette that both emancipated and defined glamour. The experience was great as it helped us learn more about Haute Couture and the development of high-end fashion brands. This allowed us to understand how French designers and fashion designers have long created the most prominent and longed for design brands on the planet. Both inventive and truly remarkable, the extraordinary reputation of the French clothing industry can be traced back to the 17th century, and it is a reputation that has continued to grow ever since. We spent a sunny afternoon at Maison LV, sipping some good quality bubbly and interacting with one of their family representatives, and being taken through a sort of gallery of their most various trunks and handbags. emblematic. What sets LV apart and maintains its relevance even today is its “quality”. I remember that word very well because it was so emphasized during that visit from the PR guy. Quality has only been the priority since day one, at the heart of every LV product. They do not focus on marketing, but only on creating products that are extraordinary in their design and craftsmanship. Each piece of luggage created by them is individually handcrafted with the utmost care and attention, even though the company operates on a very large scale today. Later, after a brief research, we also learned that for about twenty years, LVMH has taken on significant work in extravagance. showcase since its convergence with LV; immediately, LVMH is known as the world's largest combination of extravagant products under different classes and brands. Crowned as the world's most valuable luxury brand, LV is currently worth $38.8 billion and ranks 12th on Forbes' list of the most valuable luxury brands in 2019. Its revenue has increased every year , thanks to 40 percent of their LV salaries. . When we analyze LV's achievements, we see unequivocally that its prosperity is not based on assumptions. LV's procedures are used to make offers to its objective customers and, therefore, they determine the customers' purchasing choice. In this way, Louis Vuitton's current rise in profitability is no accident. Or it is the result of powerful advertising plans. The French apparently owe their unique chic to King Louis he was getting dressed. Additionally, given the importance of luxury goods to the national economy, Louis placed various aesthetic activities, including the exchange of materials, under the control of the royal court, which became the general mediator of style. Moreover, for a considerable period, it was in France that the most remarkable textures and materials were found. Thus, when the specialty of haute couture flourished in the late 19th century, couturiers and tailors had no choice but to settle in France. Charles Frederick Worth, the Englishman credited with building a high fashion industry, was the first to open his business on Rue de la Paix in Paris, followed by a few other style houses - Paul Poiret and Among them, Madeleine Vionnet. It was during this visit that I discovered the modern term haute couture, and its origin in the 1860s, which meant tasteful fashion. THEThe term ready-to-wear originated in the 1960s as a reaction to conventional beliefs in clothing style and construction, responding to the demands of pop society and mass media. The most compelling and engaging details that were shown and shared with us were YSL's story in the form of a 30-minute video and how he took ownership of his mentor Valentino. Seeing his beautiful, intact desk, his sketches, his books and even his stationery and tape measure left me in awe and full of admiration for him as a designer. A little later, Paris had become a thriving center of style, while French designs were reproduced around the world. Among these style houses, the best known was apparently that of Coco Chanel. To say that Chanel changed the world of design would be an understatement: she totally deconstructed women's clothing as it was called by killing the girdle, incredibly atrocious underwear that controlled the chest into a socially hopeful form. She favored flowing shots, the predominance of which took off in the mid-1920s, becoming the look that would characterize an era: the “flapper style.” Galeries Lafayette and Printemps represent two of the largest stores in Paris, if you don't consider the world! Even if you don't feel like shopping, the glamorous windows, glitzy interiors and magnificent domes are worth a visit. One of the most magnificent experiences was the mystery shopping experience at the Coco Chanel boutique. In addition to discovering the limited edition models in all their categories, we were specifically told about the “white camellia” brand created by Coco Chanel in 1910 which remains a strong symbol of French luxury. It is also thanks to the expertise of their late creative director Karl Lagerfeld that the brand has experienced new growth on the market. The experience was great and also helped us understand how premium customer services are provided by these luxury brands to ensure consumer loyalty as well as consumer-driven marketing. Our next plan was to visit the high-end wineries of Paris. Before leaving for this experience, we attended an in-depth conference on wine and spirits distribution at the Neoma Business School. This allowed us to understand different factors linked to the quality of wines, the history of wine estates in France, etc. As we learned about this – conceptually, we planned and visited Devavry Maison champagne. It is one of the oldest and most exquisite wine estates in France. Here we had the chance to taste champagne while our winery guide described the characteristics of a premium wine. He explained that the bubbling of Champagne is a spirit-directed trigger of joy. Even before the wine is tasted, the eye is fascinated by the spiral rise of the bubbles towards the outside of the glass, accompanied by a multitude of small puffs which release the perfume and guarantee the preference for the glass. At that moment, bursting onto the tongue, the taste buds send an optimistic signal to the brain. The entire champagne experience can easily be ruined by a poor glass decision, as the condition of the glass legitimately influences the rise and dispersion of bubbles in the champagne, as does the arrival of fragrance and flavor. We also learned that a large tulip molded glass is the most preferred shape for improving champagne tasting skills. This shape is wide enough at the base to open the wine and discover the aromas, tight enough near the top to makebring out the aromas on the nose and high enough to allow the bubbles to rise. The glass should also be good quality clear glass to allow the consumer to fully appreciate the spiraling of the bubbles and show the foam. It was an extremely pleasant and wonderful experience that allowed us to understand why Paris wines and spirits are considered the most exquisite. It is not only their taste and manufacturing but also the way they are presented that completely captivates the consumer. Some may view the art of making perfumes as the art of producing wines. There are similarities, but there are also major differences: the wine industry has been a widespread success story for millennia and is now diverse across the world. If perfume has developed in many countries over the centuries, it is in France that it has developed into a targeted business. This may be due to the quality and suitability of the region for the production of certain floral and herbaceous ingredients. There has also been an increase in skills in this area, aided by the French policy of creating and maintaining distinctive regional artisan skills, such as food production, wine, fabric, etc. The industry is becoming a determining factor in the region. A visit to the Fragonard perfume museum in Paris is above all an excellent way to better understand an extraordinary perfume brand. The brand name “Fragonard” was chosen in honor of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, a famous painter born in Grasse, a French river town. This community in the south of France is considered the support of French perfumery. Fragonard thus conveys an aromatic quality similar to that of Grasse and the refinement of 18th century expressions. Likewise, he communicates his desire to maintain the business in accordance with his agreement. We learned in detail about the perfume production methods used by Fragonard Parfumerie, the first materials to collect, how they use the extraction of patchouli flowers, distilling it, forming the product, until bottling the liquid , packaging and most importantly, the importance of being a master perfumer of the nose, identifying and selecting the fragrances to use. The museum's sales manager also told us about Fragonard's perfume workshops, where visitors can book workshops to create their own cologne with personalized advice from a professional. They can then design their own perfume formula based on their individual preferences and then bottle it. This community in the south of France is considered the support of French perfumery. Subsequently, Fragonard conveyed a quality of perfume similar to that of Grasse and the refinement of 18th century expressions. Thus, he communicates his desire to maintain the business according to his agreement. From the raw materials of perfume production to the activity of perfume making, the Museum reveals the secret of perfume making, as well as a splendid collection of valuable perfume bottles from ancient times to to the present day. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a recent 19th century perfumery. You will be able to discover this world of perfume through a scenography combining photos and different manufacturing machines, old objects, archives, photos and images of today. As we finished our tour of the fashion giants, our last visit took place at the Osmothèque center. It is not very large as it occupies a few rooms on the edge of the ISIPCA, a short distance from the center of Versailles - but it is excellent in terms of centrality. It specializes in the preservation and.