In the Marais area, the department store BHV (Bazaar de l’Hôtel de Ville) successfully melds homewares, beauty and fashion
The pigments of colour stretch as far as my eyes can absorb them: golden yellow, juicy orange, deep scarlet, hot pink, swimming-pool blue, grass green – and that’s just six shelves out of 16 on display in the art department of Le BHV Marais.
The three single letters (for “Bazaar de l’Hôtel de Ville”) mark a Paris legend and a store that really does seem to have everything. On the ground floor as you enter are handbags from Marc Jacobs to Karl Lagerfeld and so many more; then you can go downstairs to the “bricolage” or Do It Yourself products, from lightbulbs to tools and hardware. These basic objects are the beating heart of the store, which dates back to 1870.
As shoppers move from floor to floor they can discover everything from those colourful artist’s accessories to homewares, beauty products and, of course, fashion. The choice of clothes, often from little-known brands, would draw my attention en route to the upper-floor windows, where your eyes sweep over the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) opposite Le BHV and look out on the vast expanse of the French capital below.
![The rooftop terrace at Le BHV Marais overlooks Paris, with the Eiffel Tower in the background
© Sous les Fraises
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© Sous les Fraises
[Image may contain: Wood, Plywood, Hardwood, Patio, Plant, Tree, Palm Tree, and Arecaceae]
The Marais takes in a historic part of Paris that sprawls beyond the store’s original location, where the Rue de Rivoli joins the Rue de Temple. In the heart of what was once a Jewish neighbourhood, Le BHV is unique in Paris for being the first to open on Sundays (from 11am to 7pm).
And look at all these people! The wider world may still be living through a pandemic, but here, customers are actually shopping. And that is a rare sight when stores across the city, from the boutiques on the famously grand Champs-Élysées to the upper crust Avenue Montaigne, are more or less empty since Covid-19 brought an abrupt end to shopping as international recreation.
Le BHV is proud that the virus closed down the store down for only two months, and that its customers – 85 to 90 per cent of whom are French – came back to shop as soon as its doors were open again.
Does the secret of its success lie in the fact that this store puts “local” first – with global as a follow-up?
“We sell everything; the whole range from basic to ‘grande luxe’ in this one store,” says Benoit Le Mauff, Director of Visual Identity and Merchandising. He explains how Le BHV’s upgrade has a satellite shopping effect, with brands including Gucci and Moncler now on offer in BHV’s boutiques on the Rue des Archives, one of the small surrounding streets of the Marais.
Along the river Seine, the development of La Samaritaine Pont-Neuf – a historic store from 1870 now owned by LVMH – is likely to have played a role in encouraging a spruce-up of Le BHV Marais. However, La Samaritaine’s relaunch as a concept store and vast fashion mall, originally planned for 2020, has been delayed by the Coronavirus epidemic. By contrast, the two-month lockdown in France enabled the speedy redevelopment of Le BHV.
Two elements of the Marais store are immediately obvious: Giving small French companies a chance to grow, and what Le Mauff describes as a focus on “green”. A new generation is demanding a more thoughtful approach to what is desirable.
I’m struck by the number of small companies contributing to a greener world, and also by the focus on fresh food, not least because vegetables growing on the rooftop will find their way to its restaurants – the Artisan de la Truffe bistro sounds particularly appealing.
© Sous les Fraises
As digital natives, customers appear to be drawn towards certain goods, whether from America or Sweden, as long as they are appropriate to current consciousness. The young brands just have to tick the boxes of good quality, clear identity and international vision.
I can’t remember when the word “lifestyle” became part of fashion’s language. Although the actual word is much older, I believe that the Eighties were the key period when it became commonly used, and I would judge Ralph Lauren as the first major fashion designer to embody aspirations and attitudes that took the label beyond fashion.
But surely Le BHV Marais is the first store to blend house and home with mighty or fledgling brands – and make it all seem fashionable in a friendly way. The fact that this apparently homely store is part of the internationally renowned Galeries Lafayette group must play a crucial role in giving Le BHV a fashionable edge.
The big clothing brands are still a work-in-progress for my mid-August visit. Although popular French names such as Vanessa Bruno are in place, I’m more intrigued by names I don’t know. These include small companies from the south or west of France, offering start-ups a position in the accessories, beauty and fashion departments. There seems to be a general willingness to focus on French products, from emerging to established names. They are offered among global brands, but the range even includes vintage clothes and historic home goods such as decorative wine bottles – all more usually found online.
From the basement to the sixth floor, the store seems to have, if not shoppers galore, a steady stream of people swinging a Le BHV bag. During the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, it is impossible to judge the current success or otherwise of the historic store. But Le BHV Marais has something to draw your attention at every turn.
© DSL studio
Just in case you are in need of entertainment, the store has created a sliver of a space, “Lafayette Anticipations”. Designed by “starchitect” Rem Koolhaas, this is a not-for-profit foundation for the visual and performing arts.
Currently, curator Dirk Meylaerts has installed a striking exhibition of the work of Rachel Rose, including “Borns” – a collection of rock and glass sculptures. These are among the variety of ways, from film to pictures, that the young American artist expresses her vision.
© Andrea Rossetti
Next up at Lafayette Anticipations is an exhibition of artwork by Martin Margiela, the Belgian designer who left fashion in 2009. A decade on, Meylaerts has persuaded him to show to the public what has until now been a private endeavour.
For more information, visit www.bhv.frand www.lafayetteanticipations.com.
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