At the entrance, two lacquered paint and stainless steel counters, looking like science fiction ships, face the visitor. Right: the cash register. On the left: the concierge, where a young bellhop smiles amiably, as if from an Arthur Conan Doyle novel, in a bright red jacket and headdress. A so-called cinnabar red, like the name of the brand established here for a few months, with the dual intention of being both an accessories boutique and a very chic hotelier.
We come to Cinabre, Cité Bergère, a discreet passage a stone’s throw from the Grands Boulevards, in Paris, less by chance than by word of mouth, to buy, in the shop on the ground floor, ties, bows butterflies, scarves, suspenders or belts of seventies and fanciful chic, or because you want to sleep in one of the two suites of approximately 90 square meters each located on the floors.
Alexandre Chapellier, who founded the Cinabre brand in 2011, discovered this building in 2020 where an art gallery and offices existed. “In our previous boutique, rue d’Hauteville, business was doing well, but I thought I had more things to say and show than a few ties and scarves,” he says, thinking in particular of this coherent, elegant and personal decoration, which he was able to deploy with the help of Charlotte Albert and Alexis Lamesta – the duo behind Necchi Architecture –, and which was unveiled a few years ago. weeks.
A business school graduate who worked with the Axa group, Alexandre Chapellier is also a long-time collector of jackets and military objects. He built Cinabre on a Gainsbourg aesthetic, a masculine chic infused with a taste for uniform and a British spirit., and whose good demeanor always reveals a touch of humor.
Ties in candy pink silk satin or corgi print (the dogs so dear to the late Queen Elizabeth II), bow ties with tartan or Art Deco patterns, wine-colored dressing gowns or floral tapestry, cashmere gloves, suspenders striped, toile de Jouy clutch or silk scarf stamped with an astronaut…
All of this, possibly embroidered with the customer’s initials and manufactured in its workshop in Fontaine-Raoul, in Loir-et-Cher, or with French partners, in the Monts du Lyonnais or the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. “Everyone dresses identically, especially French men, notes the master of the place, with the false air of Wes Anderson. The accessory plays an even more differentiating role. »
You have 70% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.