Article by Frank Cierpial

Each Fashion Week, I aways try to push myself out of my comfort zone.  I either try to add new pieces to my wardrobe, or I wear colors that I have never worn before, or I try to discover new brands.  Living in New York, I have had access to see a lot of brands but for many of them I have never even dared to go in the boutiques.  How I stayed away from Zadig & Voltaire as long as I did is a mystery to me till this very moment.

Now, here in Paris, I’m studying Fashion, but in America, I studied French Literature. I read Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Zola, Sartre, and I read Voltaire.  If you were wondering, Zadig & Volatire is a reference to the literary icons.  They are a trendy and quite edgy brand that helps to find a very chic Parisian medium between edge and elegance. 

The event was at one of their boutiques close to the Champs Elysees.  Everybody was very welcoming, very excited about the brand and the new bag, and the best part, Vogue was there.  the bag was very cleverly called Candide.  For those who do not know Candide was a novel written by Voltaire in the French Enlightenment at the time of the French Revolution.  It comes in a variety of colors including a nice two toned black and yellow, a classic black, brown, and kind of maroon burgundy color which is very popular right now throughout the fashion industry.

The bag is made in Italy and comes in a tote style which is also very trendy right now (thanks to the Céline “luggage” bag).  Candide really is a great bag to have this fall and those of you who read my articles know that I’m not all about recommending products to Prete-Moi Paris readers who shop, but in this case, it will serve you well.  My Frankie senses are tingling and I’m telling you right now that it will transition into your all seasons very well and it is so classic that you’ll be able to use it for years to come.  That’s all I’m going to say on the matter.

Now, for the fun part.  I fell so in love with Zadig & Voltaire as a brand that I just couldn’t help myself.  I came up with a fun idea, something that I’ve never done before.  I have to thank the team at the Francois 1er store in Paris especially Bertillon for being so patient with me when she was alone downstairs in the Men’s Department  and had millions of people for the event.  I worked retail and it’s hard to run an event and help 7 people at once, but they did such a fantastic job.  I decided to pull some looks and try them on.  What I discovered from this little experiment is that I LOVE ZADIG & VOLTAIRE! They are a little bit rock, kind of dark, but chic and Parisian at the same time.  They have such a range of accessories that you can put any kind of spin you want on any outfit.  They have shoes.  They have bags.  They have scarves.  they have belts and they lay everything out in a way that if you change one thing you can have a totally different outfit.

Totally Parisian! Totally Fun! They made my night! I love this brand.