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Fashion and beauty

Yves Saint Laurent: the French designer who changed the fashion industry

From smoking jackets to safari-style trouser suits, fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent blurred gender boundaries with his flattering, fabulous prêt-a-porter collections for women

Primark plans to double number of low-cost fashion shops in France

The Irish brand wants to open four new sites per year in suburban towns

French clothes shops launch rental schemes: how do they work?

The schemes are touted as an alternative to fast fashion and are no longer restricted to luxury brands but now include H&M and Kiabi

news

Men of French village Levis offered free jeans… but not from Levi’s!

Hundreds of denim jeans are to be handed out in the 200-resident village this weekend as part of a publicity campaign

Straight to the (needle) point in Alençon, France

We unpick the history of the Queen of Lace and Lace of Queens in Alençon

France publishes list of French words to use for shopping anglicisms

Say l’essayer-acheter in French not ‘try before you buy’

Paris metro and tram seats transformed into slippers

A French company is selling slippers made from leftover fabric used to renovate the Paris public transportation network, featuring the unmistakable patterns

Quoi de neuf - French shopping in October 2022

New products, designs and ideas from around France

Se serrer la ceinture: Our French expression of the week

On the occasion of Paris Fashion Week and the government’s 2023 budget, we look at a clothes-related phrase used when talking about money

What’s coming up this week (September 26) in France?

A giant David Hockney artwork comes to complement the Bayeux Tapestry, the government presents its 2023 budget, rain moves in across France and more

Two centuries of French glasses, from functional to high fashion

Today up to 12 million pairs are made in the Jura and sold worldwide. We visit the birthplace of fashionable frames and find it has a bright future

From Dior to berets: Seven places in France for fashion-lovers

The country has plenty to offer fashionistas: from Dior’s childhood home in Normandy to a museum dedicated to the emblematic beret in the south of France

Why do the French call tuxedos ‘un smoking’?

This classic wardrobe item has been under the fashion spotlight during the awards season in February. We explain what is behind the strange English etymology of the word

Stars pay tribute after French designer Thierry Mugler dies aged 73

The flamboyant creator rose to fame in the 1980s and was known for his ‘power dressing, Mugler woman’ silhouette

French designer Pierre Cardin dies

Cardin was the first fashion designer to enter the Académie des beaux-arts

Safety rules proposed as France to reopen hair salons

As it is confirmed that most hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons will be allowed to reopen in France after confinement is lifted on May 11, a list of new rules has been proposed to keep staff and customers safe.

Jean genies resurrect French family clothing business

The Connexion discovers how modern mores helped to save a company founded in the 19th century, all in ethical fashion

Craftspeople in France: Maroquinier/Leather craftsman

Quality and unique items are focus of leatherwork artisans

French group Auchan tests sale of second-hand clothes

French hypermarket and supermarket group Auchan is now testing the sale of second-hand clothes in five stores.

France launches environment score system for clothes

Clothes sold in France may now display a “score” from A to E that shows how environmentally friendly the garment is, in a new system launched by the government.

British designer behind south of France fashion empire

Beverly Smart moved from London to Lagrasse 31 years ago but it was her need to make money that started a successful business, she tells The Connexion

British couple sets up fashion museum in France

A museum dedicated to women’s fashion in the 20th century has been set up by an English couple who moved from the UK to the Dordogne two years ago.

French charity helps blind people go clothes shopping

A French charity has created a service to help visually-impaired or blind people go clothes shopping more easily and confidently.

France's crafts in focus - April 2019

I loved hats so much I learnt how to create them

French people ‘giving up on the suit’ as sales plummet

Sales of men’s suits in France have fallen by 58% in recent years, prompting commentators to suggest that the outfit may be “on the decline” and no longer seen as a symbol of “prestige and power”.

Today’s fashions draw upon France's lacy past

Thelong history of lacemaking in Calais and a new exhibition linking past and present

Second-hand is the new black

The Connexion examines the reasons for the rising popularity of second-hand clothing in France – where personal jumble sale parties are the next big thing... and can sell-out in minutes

Wash and go green

After tourism and food, France’s cosmetics industry is the latest to take the ‘slow’ lane to success

Meghan’s boost for French jewellery

A French artisan jewellery brand has had to step up production after the Duchess of Sussex wore a pair of its earrings on a royal trip to Morocco

Couture chic of Dior’s country retreat

Maureen Footer reveals how the Provençal hideaway of fashion designer Christian Dior inspired his work

Jewels of French queen Marie Antoinette on display

Precious jewellery worth over €3m belonging to the last queen of France, Marie-Antoinette, is to be on public display in London ahead of being sold at auction in Geneva on November 14.

Striking a pose for changing fashions

1960s fashion snapper Peter Knapp changed fashion photography, as a new exhibition reveals

‘Built-in obsolescence’ study targets women’s tights

Clothing brands are deliberately making women’s tights that will “ladder”, forcing users to throw them away after just six uses, a new study by anti-“built-in obsolescence” association HOP has found.

Designer Galliano renounces use of real fur

The high fashion designer John Galliano is to no longer use real animal fur in his creations, after being convinced on the issue by animal welfare association PETA.

Bluff your way in French fashion ... buy a scarf

Journalist Samantha Wydymus, who runs a table d’hôte in Olliergues (63), reveals the great secret to that most French of tricks – effortless style

Tributes to fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy

Hubert de Givenchy, the French fashion designer behind the iconic black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast At Tiffany’s , has died aged 91.

French-Tunisian designer Alaïa dies aged 77

Azzedine Alaïa, the French-Tunisian high-fashion designer often credited with creating pencil skirts and black underwear for the masses, has died aged 77.

Put your best foot forward

Parisian leather shoes from loafers to classic cuts

How socks and sandals went from naff to nifty

Every month we assess an aspect of the French zeitgeist. This month: the claquettes-chaussettes phenomenon

Local pride on the loom

Wear regional pride on your sleeve with quality knits

Cécile brings Kate’s royal maternity chic to Paris

It has taken a year of hard negotiating and support from her 100-strong workforce but, finally, London entrepreneur Cécile Reinaud has opened her first Séraphine maternity wear store in France, on the smart Paris Left Bank.

Not so glam

As soon as I read Jessica Knipe’s interview with Helena Frith Powell (August), I realised that I was living in a parallel and quite different France from Helena’s. French women ‘more elegant’? In your dreams!

Putting la vaisselle into vogue

Perfume maker Fragonard makes washing up stylish

French fashion firms ban use of too-thin models

French luxury fashion companies LVMH and Kering have banned the use of skinny female and male models from their casting calls and runway shows.

Modistes let fashion go to their heads

Both chapelier (hatter/hatmaker) and modiste (milliner) are métiers d’art , and the differences between them are subtle: the chapelier works primarily with felt, straw and fabric and produces classic hats for both men and women; while the modiste sees hats as art objects and tends to make unique pieces, usually for women.

You need do nothing to be a silver fox

It seems grey is the new black and a French fashion journalist has revealed how more people can join the trend... by doing nothing.

Did you know: A string vest by any other name...

The Marcel is an iconic piece of French clothing with a name which is far more evocative than the English term, string vest or singlet.