From Paris (and Tokyo) with love

MANILA, Philippines - Much has been said about the je ne sais quoi quality — that certain something you can’t put a finger on with the Parisienne: disshelved hair, seemingly bare-faced sans makeup, eternally lean, with effortlessly chic style. It’s easy to assume they live lives of romantic rapture — and there is no dearth of anectodal, how-to books in the bestseller section all claiming that you, too, can live la vie Parisienne.

Ines de la Fressange’s Parisian Chic is one such guide, translated into 17 languages and selling more than a million copies worldwide. De la Fressange has both credibility and clout: she is of an aristocratic family and became both a Chanel model and Karl Lagerfeld’s muse. The bust of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic (and French beauty), has been carved in her likeness.

Before Uniqlo worked with Ines for their first collaboration last year, chief operating officer Katsumi Kubota had only seen her ads for Chanel. It was interesting to him that Ines’ life was not that of a glamorous party animal. “She enjoys her life but calmly, both day and night,” he observed, thereby revealing the allure of the Parisienne. “She is not a designer but her lifestyle itself is a model for most people.

“Uniqlo’s strength lies in basics: comfort, quality and affordability,” Kubota added, and Uniqlo’s previous collections with Ines were composed of quintessential Parisienne everyday pieces for doing everyday things such as a belted trench coat and a striped pullover. While these collections have been the Japanese brand’s best-selling collaborations to date, both Uniqlo and Ines felt something was amiss.

What the brand soon discovered was that it wasn’t simply in the design or styling. You can knot a silk scarf around your neck or pop on a beret, but these are just surface flourishes. While working with Ines for Uniqlo’s fourth collaboration for fall-winter 2015, design director Naoki Takizawa recalls, “When I speak with Ines about clothing, the backdrops always fascinate me. For example, she might explain something by using a scene from a Francois Truffaut film. Designs can emerge naturally from such settings as towns, snowy slopes, hotel bars, or even lovers’ smiles.” These references resulted in a palette of deep forest green and vin chaud wine. Ines’ nostalgia led to the revival of ski sweaters in jacquard patterns and cable knits.

But it is the jackets — in cashmere-soft wool, Harris tweed that softens the more it is worn, corduroy and velvet — that stand out. “It is too fancy for the style of Uniqlo, but Ines really wanted to use it,” Kubota comments regarding the velvet; but he, too, is happy with this experimentation. The jackets’ hems were shortened and cinched in the waist, in the style of ‘40s women’s jackets. Vintage-finish buckled leather belts, also in the collection, are suggested for styling. They were able to retain Uniqlo’s price points despite these changes, jackets ranging from P2,990 to P4,990, all available on Sept. 14 at SM Megamall, SM Aura, and SM Mall of Asia.

For those looking to pack a coat for their autumn travels, Kubota is proud of the reversible chesterfield coat (P4,990 to P7,990), Uniqlo’s first coat tailored with a reversible wool fabric that’s very warm yet surprisingly light as a cardigan.

Two years ago, coats and jackets weren’t a practical pick for the Filipino shopper. “Filipinos themselves have changed in the past two years. They have become more global, enjoying more sophisticated dinners at restaurants and travelling more. You may own a down jacket, but if you go to a nice dinner, you want to wear something better to scale up the experience,” says Kubota. And we, too, can learn more about the art of leisurely living from the Parisiennes.

Ultimately, it isn’t really about the clothes but the life one lives in the clothes. So much can be done with your time that’s not spent going home to change for dinner after work. As Ines enthuses, “It’s also important to do nothing, to daydream, go for a walk.”