Meanwhile, across the Seine on the Left Bank, another 19th century grand department store “Le Bon Marché” is currently promoting an event that might initially be thought of as an oxymoron, “Brooklyn Chic” comes to Paris! To showcase goods that were sourced in Brooklyn, a borough that has come to define hipster chic, the Bon Marché has covered columns with exposed-brick wallpaper, and installed reproductions of rooftop water towers decorated with the slogan “Brooklyn Left Bank”. Around Paris, posters entitled “Brooklyn Mania” show a tattooed hipster as a Bon Marché fashion statement. Inside the Bon Marché, there are displays of knitted beanie caps, as well as artisanal jams. At  “La Grande Épicerie de Paris” (the equivalent of Harrods food hall in London), one can buy a “gourmet” hot dog as well as popcorn and bagels, albeit if the French version of a bagel comes in a myriad of flavors such as beet or squid ink. For a city that has already embraced the beer of Brooklyn Brewery, which doubled its sales in France last year, as well as “Brooklyn Food Trucks”, fashion must be the logical next extension of Brooklyn esprit. Brooklyn will remain in residence at the Bon Marché until the end of October 2015.

24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris – tel: 01 44 39 80 00