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By Stacy Shoemaker Rauen
Photography by Christophe Bielsa
Avant-garde fashion designer Christian Lacroix made headlines when he infused oversized graphics throughout the interiors of his first hotel, the Petit Moulin in Paris. Now he's done it again, this time with Le Bellechasse, located in the heart of the city's Left Bank.
"[The owners] wanted something as attractive as the Petit Moulin and I proposed something more elegant, classic," the Paris native says. "I wanted the guests to feel really like a Parisian from the 7th arrondissement, with a little bit of the countryside feeling and an arty mood because of all the museums in the area. I like people to have an 'elsewhere feeling' in my hotels, a mood which helps them feel like they are on vacation, or in their dreams."
With museums, bookshops, cafes, and antique dealers within walking distance, Lacroix devised seven schemes for the 34 rooms, each one a skillful blend of couture and fantasy, the old and the new. And once again oversized imagery creates a larger-than-life feel—from the trompe l'oeil paintings and astrological frescoes wrapping the Quai D’Orsay rooms (think butterflies and large suns and moons with faces) and the Mousquetaires' fresco inspired by a 17th century painting, to the giant playing cards covering the Jeu de Paume rooms.
The one closest to home: the Avengers scheme with its tweed and checkerboard-inspired details. "When I was a child, swinging London was more fashionable than ever and influenced our teenage years with Twiggy, the Beatles, and Carnaby," Lacroix explains. "And the Avengers set and costumes were for me the quintessence of style with bright colors, graphic pop art, and a mix and match of Victoriana memorabilia along with contemporary style. I tried to translate it in a 2007 way." Even though each theme is unique, bright and primary colors, luxurious materials like leather, crocodile, and velvet, dark wood furnishings, and luxurious bathrooms (in some rooms the bathtubs stand in the center of the room) form a definite, yet subtle connection throughout the rooms.
His clever alchemy continues in the public spaces, where murals and trompe l'oeil paintings cover everything from the reception desk to the breakfast room's massive wall, and colorful furniture done in various textures dot the grand spaces. Lacroix made sure every part of the hotel had a continuous feel, even the hallways and staircases, outfitting them with graphic images, bright red and custom black-ink on a white background carpet, black ceilings, and round partitions. "I love the idea of being home elsewhere than home," he says. "The romanticism of the hospitality life, close to a novel or a movie. [It's] always exciting to bring intimacy to an unknown place."
For more information, visit www.christian-lacroix.fr or www.lebellechasse.com.
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Fashion Forward
June 3, 2008By Stacy Shoemaker Rauen
Photography by Christophe Bielsa
Avant-garde fashion designer Christian Lacroix made headlines when he infused oversized graphics throughout the interiors of his first hotel, the Petit Moulin in Paris. Now he's done it again, this time with Le Bellechasse, located in the heart of the city's Left Bank. "[The owners] wanted something as attractive as the Petit Moulin and I proposed something more elegant, classic," the Paris native says. "I wanted the guests to feel really like a Parisian from the 7th arrondissement, with a little bit of the countryside feeling and an arty mood because of all the museums in the area. I like people to have an 'elsewhere feeling' in my hotels, a mood which helps them feel like they are on vacation, or in their dreams."
With museums, bookshops, cafes, and antique dealers within walking distance, Lacroix devised seven schemes for the 34 rooms, each one a skillful blend of couture and fantasy, the old and the new. And once again oversized imagery creates a larger-than-life feel—from the trompe l'oeil paintings and astrological frescoes wrapping the Quai D’Orsay rooms (think butterflies and large suns and moons with faces) and the Mousquetaires' fresco inspired by a 17th century painting, to the giant playing cards covering the Jeu de Paume rooms.
The one closest to home: the Avengers scheme with its tweed and checkerboard-inspired details. "When I was a child, swinging London was more fashionable than ever and influenced our teenage years with Twiggy, the Beatles, and Carnaby," Lacroix explains. "And the Avengers set and costumes were for me the quintessence of style with bright colors, graphic pop art, and a mix and match of Victoriana memorabilia along with contemporary style. I tried to translate it in a 2007 way." Even though each theme is unique, bright and primary colors, luxurious materials like leather, crocodile, and velvet, dark wood furnishings, and luxurious bathrooms (in some rooms the bathtubs stand in the center of the room) form a definite, yet subtle connection throughout the rooms. His clever alchemy continues in the public spaces, where murals and trompe l'oeil paintings cover everything from the reception desk to the breakfast room's massive wall, and colorful furniture done in various textures dot the grand spaces. Lacroix made sure every part of the hotel had a continuous feel, even the hallways and staircases, outfitting them with graphic images, bright red and custom black-ink on a white background carpet, black ceilings, and round partitions. "I love the idea of being home elsewhere than home," he says. "The romanticism of the hospitality life, close to a novel or a movie. [It's] always exciting to bring intimacy to an unknown place."For more information, visit www.christian-lacroix.fr or www.lebellechasse.com.
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