PARISIENNE is the essence of a woman who knows how to love and how to live. At the heart of YSL’s DNA is the empowerment of women, and true to this we believe that any woman, anywhere, can adopt the values of being a PARISIENNE. To celebrate the launch of PARISIENNE, and to encourage women to find their “inner PARISIENNE”, we have created www.ExperienceParisienne.com, where the essence of a woman and her PARISIENNE experience is shared with other women.
In this spirit, YSL is sending five renowned bloggers on a journey around the country to discover and reveal their very own PARISIENNE experiences in New York City, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Yves Saint Laurent has chosen an ensemble of women with passions for beauty, art, design, music, fashion and food to create a travel diary of their trip. Stay tuned here to read articles, see photos and follow the women on their journey.
This duo is the founding creative team behind the fashion, style, and shopping hotspot Refinery29. Christene is the editorial director and has worked for other publications including Gourmet and The Daily (the official publication of Fashion Week); she’s also written for Travel & Leisure and Dwell and provided creative consulting for a mix of fashion and lifestyle brands. Piera, Refinery29’s Style Director, is not only a market and visuals aficionado but an amazing photographer to boot; she’s also worked as a stylist and creative producer.
Name: Julia Gourdon
Occupation: Salesperson at The Webster in Miami
Hometown: Nice, France
DOB: 22nd January 1984
Most Distinguishing Feature: I’m super outgoing and very social
Likes: Sundays, Ibiza, fashion, my chihuahua, Europe during summer-time
Dislikes: Pretentious people of all kinds
Favorite Film: There are too many to choose!
Theme Song: “Just a little bit” and “I’m good I’m gone” by Lykke Li
Dream Affair: Sasha, my husband
Despite the manic day we had yesterday, we were truly psyched to have a slip of time for a studio visit with local artists Naomi Fisher and Jim Drain. The two are at the helm of a burgeoning new artist-run collective called The Bas Fisher Invitational, which serves as gallery space for both local artists and other hand-picked talents the two are excited about. Nestled in Miami’s Design district, the pair’s exhibition/studio revealed not only a show in the midst of installation but a spacious work area that offered brilliant glimpses of each of the artist’s handiwork. Fisher focuses on photography, painting, and video all based on performing art produced in natural settings, and Drain is noted for his inventive work in textiles, scavenging much of his materials (the ones he doesn’t make himself) right from the streets. From massive collages of fabric and colored cushions to Fisher’s bewitching fluorescent portrait paintings, we were more than inspired.
Name: Stacey Nishimoto
Hometown: San Francisco
DOB: May 6
Most Distinguishing Feature: My teeth
Likes: Mexican food, whisky, thrift stores, old records
Dislikes: Jerks
Favorite Film: Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure
Theme Song: “If You Only Knew” by Nina Simone
Dream Affair: Lindsey Buckingham
Our mini-visit to San Francisco didn’t exactly afford us oodles of time to leisurely soak up all the great art of the city. However, the de Young Museum designed by Pritzker prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron delivered the easy-going art fix we were craving. Plotted more like mini galleries and intimate private collections than a large-scale museum, the de Young houses more than 25,000 incredible works ranging from Native American to 20th Century and contemporary arts. Tip: Before popping in to check out brilliant pieces by Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and Frank Lloyd Wright, stop in at the museum’s observation floor, which offers gorgeous 360-degree views of the city. www.deyoungmuseum.org
As our last stop on the Journey, we were more than happy to add a few extra slaps on the snooze button to our sleeping schedule. And thanks to Campton Place’s ridiculously luxurious, mind-altering beds—like sleeping on a 4-star cloud!—our lights-out time was nothing short of restorative. We loved the elegant lobby entirely in bloom with vases upon vases of fresh pink roses, the bar where we had our final send-off flute of Champagne, and yes…that big delicious bed. Yvie could barely crawl out in the morning. PARISIENNE needs her beauty sleep, don’t you know? We did, too. And thanks to Campton Place…we got it. 340 Stockton Street, www.tajhotels.com
