Here at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Showroom, we have had a number of press, buyers and media coming through the door. On her way to the Jean Paul Gaultier show, Blogger Lina Tran stopped by to visit us and we swapped roles to interview her on Paris, Vauxhall Fashion Scout and the hidden doors of Paris...
Vauxhall Fashion Scout: Hi Lina, thank you for visiting the Vauxhall Fashion Scout showroom, What attracted you to Vauxhall Fashion Scout and our new Paris showroom?
Lina Tran: The designers of course! Especially Mattijs- his clothing is more interesting than others, as most of the time you see one of two things- an interesting silhouette or some intricate detailing but he has a lot of different fabrics and many different details. He manipulates and adapts his clothing a lot, and it's great!
This showroom also has more designers and aspects to it compared to others and it tells a great story with both the designers and the garments.
VFS: What did you think about the space?
LT: It was really nice, with most of the other showroom's I have seen, it has a big courtyard or it is in a hotel and I wouldn't recommend that. Walking into a hotel and then seeing a space with clothing on a rack- it makes the garments look lost and it seems a bit weird. The space here is great- the bright white walls and high ceilings really compliment the collections, helping them stand out and allowing you to concentrate on the garments. Vauxhall Fashion Scout looks professional and welcoming, especially when everybody is so nice and friendly and it encourages a positive atmosphere.
VFS: What brought you to Paris Fashion Week?
LT: The showrooms, especially. I got tickets to a lot of the shows here and as a blogger it's really interesting, especially as in Amsterdam, although you do have Fashion Week it's different. If you try to shoot street style in other countries in comparison to here, you can see that Paris fashion is much more daring and different. You also get to see a lot of young designers or emerging designers who are still having their own exhibition- you can find all the new designers here.
VFS: Do you have any hidden secrets about Paris to share?
LT: You have a lot of pop-up events going on- especially in bars and cocktail bars, you can go through a white door at the back of a cafe and there's a beautiful space; you can find a lot of spaces like that in Paris.
VFS: What are your three tips of survival for Paris Fashion Week?
LT: Keep flats in your bag at all times- everybody walks in high heels and you will need flats at some point! Also there's a service called 'Fashion Agenda' which has all the fashion events and parties printed in it, and all the schedules and hidden places for Fashion Weeks.
Also for hidden and exciting spots in Paris- don't look at large hotels or spaces, they're way too commercial!