3 Questions for . . . Bruno Julliard

First deputy mayor of Paris in charge of all issues concerning culture, patrimony, artistic professions, night-time events, and arrondissement relations.

What are the city’s priorities for supporting fashion (the FFPAP notes: helping designers, trade shows, training tomorrow’s artisans and designers, promoting those professionals in France and internationally)?

The City of Paris is proud to be involved in training and supporting designers, as well as making work space available. Communication and help with visibility are major areas of commitment for the City. In September for example, the City, in partnership with industry professionals, lit up the Eiffel Tower to celebrate fashion. The city also organized “Le Dressing de Rêve des Parisiennes” (“A Parisians’s dream wardrobe”) exhibition at City Hall, which was an immense success and also brought together all the sector’s major players in the Hôtel de Ville reception rooms.

These communication efforts target international tourists to remind them of the intrinsic ties between fashion and Paris, but also Parisians to get them excited (along with professionals) during fashion week.

The City especially focuses on designers through several support programs that go from training to accessible atelier space to assistance in creating a business. The City’s three applied art schools, Boulle, Estienne, and Duperré, have trained internationally respected designers, such as the talented Bouchra Jarrar. These designers contribute to the schools’ reputations.

The City of Paris has also set up a service to help project developers create their businesses, to advise professionals, and to give them visibility. I’m especially proud of the Ateliers de Paris project, which has played a role in the success of many Atelier residents.

Several of them, such as Christine Phung, have been recognized by Grands Prix de la Création de la Ville juries. These awards, which the Fédération generously supports, honour future talents (Léa Peckre, Yiqin Yin, and others) as well as established names (such as Sakina M’Sa and Julien Fournié). And finally, the City provides accessible space to all professionals ‒ in iconic arts-related addresses such as the Viaduc des Arts, the Ateliers M1D, and the Cour de l’Industries, as well as in commercial spaces.

In general, what are the new challenges for creative industries (fashion, design, art, etc.) for Paris?

The fact that New York and London are trying to take the fashion capital title away from Paris shows to what extent the creative industries are a key element for economic development, jobs, and international appeal.

So we have to do everything to help these industries continue in the capital by offering them ateliers at accessible prices and also by supporting incubator projects like the one from Jacques Veyrat’s team at Château Landon, or from the Chambre des Métiers, or the Collectif Coulanges initiative, which is part of the Réinventer Paris program.

We also need to offer Masters-level degrees in Paris’ applied art schools (Boulle, Estienne, Duperré, and Olivier de Serre), which have been testing this concept since 2015.

Then there’s support for collaboration between the Duperré School and the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 to create a fashion chair to show the fashion capital’s commitment in helping future designers get internationally respected and recognized diplomas.

What do you think about the evolution of French fashion?

Fashion is constantly evolving, it’s never static. Right now it presents a very interesting situation, especially with the development of new mid-market ready-to-wear brands which give Parisians a good alternative to fast fashion and the big luxury groups.

These brands, which are very creative, have no problem designing and producing ecological fashion, despite the considerable cost constraints. This sustainable fashion movement, successfully presented by l’Herbe Rouge, and Sakina M’Sa’s Front de Mode, is in tune with today’s trends and numerous consumers have been waiting for it. This approach should continue to develop, like the integration of new technologies in the creative and manufacturing processes. The integration of these ideas by the Kering Group is very good news for the future of fashion.