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FROM TOP LEFT: MATTHIEU SALVAING (2); COURTESY OF LOUIS VUITTON
RESTAURANTS
Paris Match
A team of tastemakers revives
a French culinary icon
DISCOVERIES
O
n the Left Bank of the Seine stands Lapérouse, a three-
story labyrinth of rococo dining rooms and Proustian
petits salons that in its 19th-century heyday was a favorite
of literary lions like Émile Zola, Alexandre Dumas, and
Victor Hugo. In the 1990s, it became a late-night hangout
for John Galliano, Kate Moss, and their fashionable
retinue. They loved lolling about in its decadent, désuet atmosphere. Now,
after a four-month renovation guided by French designer Laura Gonzalez,
Lapérouse is enjoying a well-deserved renaissance. The restaurant’s
romantic murals have been restored and its salles swathed in Pierre Frey
silks. Topping the tables, meanwhile, are cheerful settings conceived
by Dior Maison creative director Cordelia de Castellane—perfect comple-
ments to Apicius chef Jean-Pierre Vigato’s neoclassic French cuisine.
“It’s like waking up Sleeping Beauty,” says new owner Benjamin Patou,
great-grandnephew of couturier Jean Patou and head of Moma Group,
which counts Paris hot spots L’Arc, Noto, and Manko. And there’s more to
come. Patou has partnered with Berluti CEO and LVMH scion Antoine
Arnault, a longtime friend, “to export the magic” with a rollout of afford-
able Café Lapérouses. The first will open next year in the Hôtel de
la Marine, a museum/retail development on the Place de la Concorde,
followed by others around the globe. “Everywhere!” Patou enthused.
Even airports? “Why not?” laperouse.com —DANA THOMAS
1. A DINING AREA AT
THE REBORN LAPÉROUSE
RESTAURANT IN PARIS.
2. THE BUILDING’S FAÇADE.
ART SCENE
IN GOOD HANDS
For Artycapucines, a new
limited-edition collection,
Louis Vuitton has tasked
six contemporary artists
with reinventing its classic
Capucines bag. The results
(among them Alex Israel’s
pastel surf and Urs
Fischer’s fruit-bearing
beauty, below) now appear
in “Louis Vuitton X,” a
Beverly Hills exhibition
exploring the brand’s
history of collaborations.
louisvuitton.com
—ELIZABETH FAZZARE
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