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Gallery: Preview Paris Photo’s US Debut

By Tanja M. Laden on

Devoted to the fine art of historical and contemporary photography, the annual Paris Photo fair brought 54,000 visitors through the doors of Grand Palais last year alone. Given that kind of success, it makes sense that the prestigious photo festival should finally make its way to the US, nearly 20 years after its 1996 debut. Paris Photo Los Angeles hits the backlots of LA’s Paramount Pictures Studios April 26-28, showcasing selections from 60 international galleries, along with a dozen publishers and booksellers. There’s also a series of solo shows, book signings, screenings, partner exhibitions, and more. … Read More

Books

10 of the World’s Greatest Hotels Inspired by Literature

By Emily Temple on

After spotting this Jules Verne-inspired hotel in Canada, we decided to go on a worldwide hunt for other interesting hotels that pay homage to our favorite reads — whether in general, or focusing on a single volume, or even detail. After all, book nerds need someplace cool to stay as much as art nerds… Read More

Architecture

Stunning Photographs of Vintage Parisian Architecture

By Claire Cottrell on

The big-screen adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables opens in theaters tomorrow, and we couldn’t be more excited. Considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century, the five-volume, 365-chapter tale is as much a meditation on the complex moral and social struggles of humanity as it is a historical study of France and the architecture and urban design of Paris. The tome was first published in 1862, just before the beginning of the beguiling Belle Époque, or beautiful era, France’s golden age of affluence and artistic creativity that occurred before the turmoil of the First World War. From the architectural wonders built for the same World’s Fair that gave us the Eiffel Tower to the most famous, elaborate Art Nouveau restaurant, click through to be reminded of the design epoch that gave us one of the world’s most whimsical and romantic cities. … Read More

Photography

Fascinating Color Photos of 1914 Paris

By Caroline Stanley on

A boy pushes an overloaded cart through a picturesque city square. A soldier with a wooden leg stands next to a cannon, his uniform covered with medals. A group of young performers in period costume assemble around a statue. Then there’s this shot of the original Moulin Rouge, an architectural gem of the Belle Époque that would be destroyed in a fire the following year. Unearthed by Retronaut, these color photos of Paris back 1914 are not only lovely to look at, they’re incredibly narrative, like a visual prompt for the kind of stories that Hemingway would write about the city in the decade to come. If you need an escape from the impending holiday drama, or you’d just like travel over a hundred years back in time, click through our slideshow now! … Read More

Design

Bounce Across the Seine on a Giant Trampoline Bridge

By Caroline Stanley on

After repeated viewings of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, we couldn’t help but fantasize about taking a magical stroll on the Pont Alexandre III, a bridge that many consider to be the loveliest in Paris. A new conceptual design by Paris-based studio AZC taps into feelings of nostalgia as well — albeit of the schoolyard variety. Their winning submission to the “Bridge in Paris” competition turns crossing the Seine into an incredibly playful experience. How so? They’ve dreamed up an inflatable bridge that’s outfitted with giant trampolines that allow you to bounce your way from the Left Bank over to the Right Bank. Click through to get a better look at the renderings, which we spotted thanks to Designboom, and keep your fingers crossed that someone actually decides to makes this crazy idea a reality! … Read More

Photography

Beautifully Frantic Multiple-Exposure Photographs of Paris and Berlin

By Emily Temple on

We’ve been fans of multiple-exposure magician Stephanie Jung for a while now — early in the year, we showed you a few of her powerful multiple-exposure shots of Japan — but as far as we can tell, her work just keeps getting better. My Modern Met recently tipped us off to some new work from Jung, this time capturing two of our all-time favorite cities: Paris and Berlin. Not only are Jung’s images lovely to look at, and some of the most deft examples of multiple-exposure photography we’ve ever seen, but they truly capture the feeling of city life: slightly hazy, slightly jagged, all lights and dizzy distance and passers-by. Click through to see the series, and then be sure to head over to her Facebook page to check out even more of her work. … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we learned 50 pick up lines for Olympians. We discovered a charity group that provides bullied teens with free plastic surgery. We wondered if one-night stands were empowering or soul-crushing. We liked seeing the Louvre’s classical sculptures dressed in contemporary clothes. We finally found out… Read More

Fashion

Early 20th Century Street Fashion of London and Paris

By Caroline Stanley on

If Downton Abbey withdrawal has left you craving the splendors of Edwardian life, then we wager you’ll be as excited as were by Retronaut’s roundup of early 20th century street photography by Edward Linley Sambourne, an amateur lensman who also happened to be the chief cartoonist at Punch. “The one difference between Sambourne’s street photography and the pictures taken by modern style bloggers is that for the most part his subjects had no idea they were being photographed,” explains Dave Walker, who originally posted about his work. “Sambourne used a concealed camera.” Unsuspecting or not, these young women were dressed to impress, with accessories guaranteed to win the heart of even the most defiantly casual dresser. There’s a group of ladies parading down the Champs-Élysées with parasols. Parasols! And don’t even get us started on the incredible hats. It’s all so civilized! Click through a lookbook that we’ve assembled featuring some of our favorite style snaps after the jump. … Read More

Photography

Candy-Colored Photos of a Carnival in Paris

By Judy Berman on

A day at the fair is as essential an American summer tradition as baseball and barbecues — but it’s by no means an exclusively American tradition, either. In his series Jour de fête (Day of Celebration), French photographer Franck Bohbot explores Paris’ Foire du Trône, an annual two-month carnival in the 12th Arrondissement. Although the colorful rides and games will be familiar to anyone who’s ever visited Coney Island, the pastel color scheme and French signs lend the place an air of exotic sophistication (at least to this American). Click through for some of our favorite shots from Jour de fête, and visit Bohbot’s website and Behance page for many more. … Read More

Film

10 Passionate Parisian Encounters on Film

By Alison Nastasi on

This Friday, watch Twilight’s Rob Pattinson sleep his way through 1890′s Paris in Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod’s Bel Ami. The film is based on 19th century writer Guy de Maupassant’s novel of the same name and follows the Cosmopolis actor as an ex-soldier. He rises to power by seducing the female social elite, the likes of which include Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Christinia Ricci.

The film encompasses everything people have come to associate with the City of Light and it’s most decadent time — a sexy and romantic, artistically vibrant, and culturally fascinating period. The lavish city has been the setting for many stories in cinema, inspiring passionate encounters we won’t soon forget. Let Paris intoxicate you after the jump, then entice us with some of your favorite films below. … Read More