The initial visual feast at Paul & Joe’s palatial Parisian presentation, during Paris Fashion Week, was not the garments on show but a Marie Antoinette-style, candle-lit banquet which populated the trestle table dividing the room.
“I wanted to make this Table of Abundance,” said the brand’s founder and designer Sophie Mechaly, gesturing towards the mushroom cakes, macaron towers, and overflowing, china jugs of redcurrants. “It’s very luxurious, it’s very full. Back in the 16th century, it was all about great, great, great banquets.”
