Instagram Diary | Paris in the Snow

The weather has an incredible way of making you appreciate life a little differently every time... While I was in Paris, I was lucky enough to be caught up in the blizzards that turned everything into a crisp and white wonderland. The Gard du Nord was magnificent with its crisp icing, while out in the suburbs where I was working at Maison & Objet, the drifts were thick, fluffy and endless.

While road traffic got lethal (the first night after the snowfall, 5 people were killed around France in snow-related accidents), public transport stayed serenely unaffected, so I made my way into town both on Saturday and Monday nights for some fun. Below is the Centre Georges Pompidou in all its industrial-age finery, twinkling away.

On Monday night, I met my friend Sylvain for dinner at an awesome Vietnamese steamed dumpling place in Pigalle called Yoom on the Avenue des Martyrs. Redefined for Parisian palettes, the tasteful interior matched the hipster vibe of Pigalle perfectly. The dumplings came in these wonderful tiered baskets, all washed down with some stunning green tea.

A climb up Montmartre in the bitter fresh air and a stop in a typically "bobo" bar was the perfect digestif......

Maison & Objet 2013

Last weekend found me working my bilingual socks off at the design trade fair Maison et Objet in Paris. It's such an awesome privilege to get to go, I work with an Irish company Foxford as their French interpreter for the 5 days and get first glimpse at the next season's hottest buys in the world of interiors.

Getting to know people and seeing all kinds of business interests come together is an ace spectator sport. My mentor and amazing friend Helen was there, she who kindly let me intern with her all last year in Dublin, so I got to hang out with her. She is a straight-talking cat if ever there was one.

My pal from uni Lorna is now a proper interior designer and *everything* so she popped onto the stand to say hi, having come straight from the VIP lounge, naturally, where she was being smoozed by clients. We went on to take Montmartre that night in cosy style just right for a snowy night.

Big up to all in Hall 2 Aisle F who kept it classy - between French guys offering red wine and cheese for lunch and champagne on the dot at 5pm every evening to a gift  of the most cosy kid mohair scarf from the super-friendly South African Heritage Weavers, it was all about the good vibez where we were at.

But back to the goodz - I had a wander around Hall 7, the most fantastic and magical of all, where the playgrounds of the rich and famous are made. As usual, textures always catch my eye, and some of the fabrics and materials used were a total focal point in themselves. Expect the unexpected is always a good one; a vase covered in children's limbs? I can't believe I didn't think of that one myself.

A carpet scattered with crystals

Opulence money can't buy...

A Roberto Cavalli chandelier for when a regular chandelier just won't do...

London Collections | James Long Autumn Winter 2013

After Sibling, it was off to The Old Sorting Office for the James Long show. The textures were incredible, all the more sensual against the all-grey concrete backdrop, from quilted leathers to metallic threads in the portrait intarsia sweater to brocade trousers. The bomber shape was pretty key, and the soft shoulder was central with the sweaters too. I loved the colour palette to this collection - earthy and yet exquisite, this was a covetable collection for sure - though those jumpers need a frame around them they're so pretty....

London Collections: Sibling Autumn Winter 2013

So tonight I toddled down after work to check out the delights on offer at the London Collections menswear shows. First up, Sibling, in the vaults of the Hospital Club. Setting the tone at the end of the runway were these immortal words:

What could it mean? A floral suicide note, the ultimate hipster death slogan? Who knows. The jumper featuring the same words earned the witty tweet from GQ magazine "Well we've found our next Christmas jumper..." Ho ho, indeed. I loved the layering of knits upon giant knits, and the navy and baby pink was a cute combination. The silhouettes created by the snoods were of epic proportions, made me wonder why I ever thought one scarf was enough. I loved Charlie Porter's idea that there's a difference between fashion and style for men, which inevitably moderates how many new ideas filter down to street level (and this falls more into the fashion bracket for sure) but to see it on those delicious models is half of believing it. I mean, mittens or no, you gotta say this collection got swagger.