The Chic Catroux: Part Deux

I wrote almost a year ago in the post The Chic Catroux about how you rarely see projects from interior designer François Catroux published in magazines.  He and his wife Betty seem happy to not promote themselves or their work. Which is why it was very exciting to see not only their Paris apartment featured in the Wall Street Journal Magazine but also their house in Provence.  I think of François Catroux as supremely French so it was interesting to learn that he spent time in New York with Billy Baldwin, Babe Paley, and Diana Vreeland.  Those were the days indeed.  Interior designer David Netto was lucky enough to interview the legenday designer. To read the entire article, pick up the WSJ this weekend or click here. 

François Catroux in Provence

Photos by François Halard

The Battle for Hermès

While preparing for the hurricane last weekend, you might have missed excellent article, The Battle for Hermès in the Wall Street Journal.  For those of you who don't know, Bernard Arnault, the owner of LVMH, has been buying up shares of Hermès in an attempt to add the venerable brand to his stable of luxury goods companies that includes Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Givenchy among others.  While I like LVMH brands, they seems to be a lot of more glitzy and glam than the understated luxury of Hermès.  It will definitely be interesting to see how this new French revolution plays out.  The feature was written by Dana Thomas, the author of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster and I love the accompanying photos by Brigitte Lacombe.  Also makes me want to take riding lessons so I can order a saddle.  They are almost more beautiful than the bags.

Photos by Brigitte Lacombe