Le Pavillon des Drapiers

1648 The Drapiers purchased
the building next door at 11 rue des Déchargeurs.
Work on the Pavillion des Drapiers began
under supervision of architect Jacques Bruant (1624-1664),
older brother of the architect Liberal Bruant (1636-1697)
who designed Les Invalides.


child Louis XIV


A young child watched the construction of the Pavilion
because the house next door,
9 rue des Déchargeurs, the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon / VB
was the home of his teacher, Nicolas V de Villeroy (1598-1685).
The child was the young Sun King, Louis XIV.

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The Drapiers' Pavilion, completed in 1660,
has a fascinating fashion history.
The Drapiers' Pavilion was where fashion professionals gathered
to defend their interests before the Bourbons, Kings of France.
Much of this history has been lost,
but from time to time - thanks to the internet - forgotten stories resurface.




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We know that Louis XIV continued
to visit Rue des Déchargeurs
throughout his life
because he maintained ties with the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon (VB).
His teacher's house became the headquarters of the Royal Post Office.
Postmaster Louis Leon Pajot (1678-1754)
was a confidant of the King
and also a forerunner of
the Phone Book of the World.




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Marie Antoinette


map of rue des Déchargeurs from 1780
The N° in white correspond
to todays Showroom locations
and their Cafes.



Marie Antoinette (1755 - 1793),
wife of Louis XVI, 3x great grandson of Louis XIV
reguarly came to the Pavillon des Drapiers

She was passionate about fashion reunions.
It was at rue des Déchargeurs
she discovered many talents.

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End of a story
The buidling disappears
The facade is conserved



The Drapiers' Guild and all other guilds
were abolished in 1791 with the French Revolution.

The Drapiers' Pavilion
became the Grand Bureau de Bonneterie,
a knitwear store.
The Pavilion deteriorated,
and the caryatids on the facade
were damaged and disappeared.


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1858 se dessine à Biarritz un nouveau projet pour le quartier des Halles,
le Marché des Halles Centrales
avec des Pavillons tout en fer et en verre
crées par Victor Baltard (1805 - 1874)
Il y a aussi une nouvelle rue, la rue des Halles,
qui deviendra axe de liaison entre les Pavillons Baltard
et la place du Châtelet, rue de Rivoli.
La "directrice artistique" est l'Impératrice Eugénie (1826 - 1920).

1858, a new project for the Les Halles district
took shape in Biarritz:
the Marché des Halles Centrales using pavilions
made entirely of iron and glass
designed by Victor Baltard (1805-1874).

There was also a new street, Rue des Halles,
which would become a connecting axis
between the Baltard Pavilions and Place du Châtelet, Rue de Rivoli.

The "artistic director"
was Empress Eugénie (1826-1920).

Much to the Empress's regret,
the Drapiers' Pavilion had to give way
to the new Rue des Halles.
She arranged for the façade to be preserved
and transferred to the Carnevalet Museum.
The sculptor Charles Gautier (1831-1891)
helped rebuild the damaged caryatids of the Pavilion.


Charles Gautier was also the sculptor
of the caryatids at 19 Rue des Halles,
today home of Quianxi.

The restaurant located between
showomm N°1 and N°9
is a snice place for business lunches of diners.

Eugénie had the street's axis moved
to preserve the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon
(the left side of Showroom Paris is part of the Hôtel VB).



Return of a Story
Empress Eugénie



1869 Rue des Halles is completed,
the Pavillons Baltard are in place at
11 Rue des Déchargeurs facing
the Les Halles foodmarket,
Cremerie de Paris, is established.

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1870 The Prussians,
wishing to annex Alsace and Lorraine,
provoked a war,
which triggered the fall of the Second Empire
September 7.

The creative spirit of the new Les Halles district,
Empress Eugénie left France
and went into exile in England,
where her friend Queen Victoria welcomed her.

Living for a very long time,
Eugenie was passionate about telling stories
about her Parisian market to children.

Her legends were passed down
from one generation to another
and would one day,
more than a century later,
lead to the return of the Cremeries de Paris,
which had all closed,
but which retained some of the magic
of the old Les Halles market.



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Cremerie de Paris
and it's visitors
Louis II of Bavaria
and Sissi

The aura of the history of the Pavillon des Drapiers,
which became the Cremerie de Paris,
and the legends surrounding the childhood of Louis XIV
continue to attract legendary figures.

The photo shows the young King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886)
who visited the Cremerie de Paris twice.
Ludwig II of Bavaria had an admiration for Louis XIV
which is reflected in the construction of Heerenchiemsee
in the spirit of a small Versailles.
Louis II wanted to see Cremerie de Paris
as a place connected to the childhood of Louis XIV.

Ludwig II also built the castles of Neuschwanstein et Linderhof
and less known Koenigshaus am Schachen.
Ces constructions lui a valu le surnom "Märchenkönig" / "Roi des contes de fées"
La Cremerie de Paris étant lié a multiples contes de fées,
Louis 2 aimait cet endroit ainsi que le magnifique marché des Halles Centrales
hélas disparu grâce à Marcel Diebold (1912 - 2002) un préfet
qui a autorise leur destruction.

These buildings earned him the nickname
"Märchenkönig" / "King of Fairy Tales."
Cremerie de Paris beeing associated with many fairy tales
interested Louis II.
He also loved the magnificent Halles Centrales market,
which unfortunately disappeared on a decison of Marcel Diebold (1912-2002),
a prefect, who did not leave a good souvenir.


- juily 1867 Ludwig II arrived with his grandfather,
King Ludwig I of Bavaria (1786-1868).
The reason for the trip was to visit the World's Fair
organized by France during the Second Empire.
Napoleon III hoped that Bavaria would abandon its alliance with Prussia.
He received King Ludwig I and his grandson, the future Ludwig II.
Empress Eugenie may also have spoken
to the young Ludwig Othon Friedrich Wilhelm von Wittelsbach
of the Cremerie de Paris and her foodmarket.


Did you know that the first name "Louis"
in German "Ludwig"
of the Kings Ludwig von Bayern
goes back to Louis XIV.

Il y a même un lien direct qui traverse les générations.
Le 3x arrière-petit-fils de Louis XIV (3eme Roi Bourbon),
Louis XVI (5eme roi Bourbon)
était le parrain de Louis I, Roi de Bavière.

There is even a direct link that crosses generations.
The third great-grandson of Louis XIV (3rd Bourbon King),
Louis XVI (5th Bourbon King)
was the godfather of Ludwig I, King of Bavaria.

The grandsons of Louis I ov Bavaria
were Louis II (1845 - 1886)
and his cousin Louis III (1845 - 1921),
the last King of Bavaria.

Louis II had a strong admiration
for Louis XIV, the "Sun King".
in his poems he considered himself
as the "Moon King".

The tradition to call the children of the family
"Louis / Ludwig" continues.
From time to time some young Wittelsbach
come to Paris
and they come by Cremerie de Paris
to see what is going on .
They have the age Louis XIV had
when he came to the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon,
the right side of the showroom
is part of VB.
They are still too young to be interested
by the fashion brands that have come by,
they favorite expos are the Pokemon, Fanta and Coca Cola.

One of the children is called "Louis".
For his last visit january 2025
we explained him
all the different "Louis" between
Louis XIV and himself.

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- August 1874 Louis II of Bavaria returned,
In the meantime France had become the 3rd Republic.
For the moment we do not know
who accompanied Louis II during his visit.
All we know from one of the members of his family
is that he must have presented his excuses
for the bad behavior of the Prussians.



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- Louis II's cousin,
Sissi in Bavaria / Sissi of Austria (1837 - 1898)
came in March 1882
She went to see her younger sister Sophie Charlotte (1847 - 1897)
who had once been the finacé of King Louis II.
Later Sophie Charlotte married
Ferdinand d'Orleans, duke of Alencon,
grandson of King Louis Philippe of France.

Johannes Thurn & Taxis (1926-1990),
the great-grandson of Sissi's older sister
Helène in Bavaria / Hélène Thurn & Taxis
recounted that Sissi had taken a train
from the Gare du Nord to Chantilly
and returned the same day to Paris
because she wanted enough time to visit the Cremerie de Paris.

Thurn & Taxis played a key role
in the reopening of the Cremeries de Paris,
which began with the small Cremerie de Paris No. 2,
located 50 meters away.
It was also thanks to him that we were able to meet Aimée de Heeren,
who would appear 56 years later in this story.



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Vincent van Gogh
and many other impressionist
post-impressionists

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)
knew the place by his friend Eugène Boch (1855 - 1941)
Eugène Boch was at the same time a post impressioniste
and an avant-garde modern art collector.
He had the chance to have inherited important revenues
he used to buy the paintings of his friends.


Eugène Boch was captivated
by the history of the old Villeroy Bourbon / VB mansion
(left side of the showroom).
He knew about the place from his aount Octavie Villeroy (1823 - 1899).
Octavie was the granddaughter Nicolas Villeroy (1753 - 1843)
named after the illustrious Nicolas V de Villeroy (1598 - 1685),
teacher of Louis XIV.

Eugène Boch brought many artisits to Cremerie de Paris
and the VB mansion
Emile Bernard (1868 - 1941),
Henri Toulouse Lautrec (1864 - 1901),
Dodge Mac Knight (1860 - 1950),
Paul Cezanne (1839 - 1906),
Paul Gaugin (1848 - 1903)
At that time Cremerie de Paris
was no longer a place dedicated to fashion
but a milk and cheese store s
of the Les Halles foodmarket.

Emile Bernard did not live very far from the Showroom,
15 quai de Bourbon on Ile Saint Louis.
Too bad we can not talk to him
because he would know so much more
about Cremerie de Paris history
from the times of the food market.
Sometime we go to Ile Saint Louis
for an ice cream break in between two meeting
at the showroom.






The legends around
VB and Cremerie de Paris / Pavillon des Drapiers
continue in Russia



Empress Eugénie that lived in the United Kingdom in exile came by Cremerie de Paris
every time she returned to Paris.

Eugènie had lost her only child,
Louis Napoléon (1856 - 1879)
and she loved to talk to children
telling them stories about the young Louis XIV
growing up in between the Palais Royal
and the Hotel de Villeroy Bourbon.
She also loved to talk of the beautiful Halles Centrales
she had imagined
with her architect Victor Baltard (1805 - 1874).

Her favorite young friend was a granddaughter
of Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901).
The girl had lost her own mother,
the oldest daughter of Queen Victoria
and lived between Darmstadt and London,
Alix Hessen (1872 - 1918)

Alix later marriered Nicolas II of Russia (1868 - 1918).
The legends about Cremerie de Paris
continued in Saint Petersbourg
beeing told to the young Romanov children
and from time to time their cousins.
Through sol of the cousins they returned to Paris.



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The Romanov loved the stories
about Cremerie de Paris,
the Pavillon des Drapiers, the child Louis XIV
like other children like the stories about Santa Claus.




This picture shows the the interior cercle around the
Romanov children.
All the children dreamed about travelling to Paris
to discover les Halles and VB.
VB is the acronym for
"Villeroy Bourbon".
Anastasia Romanov (1901 - 1918)
renamed VB as "Very Beautiful".

Dmitri Romanov (1891 - 1942)
was the oldes of the children.
Alexei Romanov (1904 - 1918) the youngest.
His friend and same age cousin was Carl Solms (1903 - 2004).



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Dmitri Romanov and Carl Solms
survived the Russian Revolution.



1921 Dmitri would become the boyfriend
of Gabrielle Chanel.





Half a century later
Carl Solms would become the babysitter
of a child to whom he transmitted a love for Paris
resulting in the idea
to the have the magic of the past of VB,
fallen asleep after the end
of the Les Halles foodmarket,
return.




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Coco Chanel
Dmitri Romanov
and Aimée de Heeren
key people in the story



Coco Chanel discovered the Showroom / Cremerie de Paris thanks to Dmitri Romanov.

Dmitri was lucky to be in Iran the
moment the revolution broke out.
Thus he was able to come to Paris
where he lived in a modest place in Boulogne sur Seine.


All that was left to him from the Romanov fortunes
were a few jewels.
One of them, a beautiful small broach
became a present for a magical woman
that turned into his girlfriend,
Coco Chanel.

Chanel invited him to live with her
at her Villa Bel Respiro in Garches.




In the VB couryard, behind the Showroom Paris N°1
is a magical staircase with a "number 5"
logo forged into the railings.

Le "5" on the staircase captivated Gabrielle Chanel
as it is her lucky number.
According to Aimee de Heeren
the staircase and the magic of VB
had an impact on the idea to create the Perfume N°5.

Did you know that Dmitri designed the first bootle
and that it was his idea to create the CC monogram logo ?
In the Romanov family everybody had a monogram
so the idea came up to design "CC"
visible the first time on the Chanel N°5 perfume bottle.

Unfortunately the Love Storey
between Gabrielle Chanel and Dmitri Romanov
did not last,
but what id left is "CC",
"N°5"
and
a little jewel.



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1938 Chanel meets a young Brazilian woman,
Gabrielle Chanel and the Paris Hi Society
are captivated by the beauty of Aimee Sotto Major,
a fashionista who spends her time trying on dresses an
d going out to parties.

According to the ememoirs of Vogue editor
Bettina Ballard

"Aimée was so beautiful, so charming,
she radiated the joy of living like a fan,
you almost wanted to eat her alive.

Decked in diamonds,
she went from a dress fitting to a gala evening,
never having time for a private conquest
because every hostess needed her for her party
to prove she was capable of bringing
the icon of the season to her reception."



Chanel tshowed her the magic of Cremerie de Paris
once the Pavillon des Drapiers.
No other place was connected
to that much fashion history.

Gabrielle Chanel et Aimée Sotto Major
could often be seen together
at receptions like
the two Circus Balls given in Versailles by Lady Mendl.

Pre-war Paris was astonished that such a young,
extraordinarily beautiful woman
could have so much money without a husband.

While people imagined that the young woman
was the daughter of an ultra wealthy Brazilian,
the reality was quite different.

Genesio de Sotto Mayor
was a teacher in a small school in Castro
in the Brazilian State of Parana.

But who would have
paid for the amazing lifestyle of the young woman ?



Secret Service agent and
resistant
a Kennedy Love Story



1938 World War II was approaching a
nd Brazil was asked to join the Axis Alliance
formed between Germany, Italy, and Japan.


The reason to come to Paris
was not to shop clothes,
but to work as a Secret Service Agent.
Her mission was to find information
so that President Vargas would
be guided which alliance to choose.

The picture shows Aimée Sotto Major / Aimée de Heeren in 1937
with her employer President Getulio Vargas (1882 - 1954)
and the first Lady Darci Vargas (1895 - 1968)
The small image shows the same Aimée de Heeren
68 years later in 2005
while visiting the showroom
to take internet lessons.

Under the cover of a pure fashionista
Aimée managed to get acces to lots of secret informations.

Helmut James von Moltke
a lawyer from Berlin
she was transmitted ultra confidential documents
showing the plans of the Nazi regime.

The documents has a strong impact on her.
An order excecuting Agent
turned into a resistant
that decided to do all she could to take action.

She used her influence on Président Vargas
to get hime away from the idea to sign the Axis alliance.
But Aimé realised that only the economic power of the United States
would be capable to change Europe's destiny.

She needed to find a way to connect with President Roosevelt
who wanted to saty our of the conflict in Europe.
What could she do ?



At a London reception she run into two young brothers.
They were the sons of the US Ambassador.
Joe Kennedy Jr (1915 - 1944)
and John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 - 1963).
The boys were dazzled by her beauty.


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1939 fFebruary Joe Kennedy Jr came to see her in Paris.
Aimée lshowed him Cremerie de Paris
and the Cedre Impérial de Meudon.
Something that should never happen to a Secret Service Agent
happened,
she fell in Love.

Their encounter is mentioned in the historic inscriptions
of Restaurant Gladines / Cremerie N°3
facing Showroom N°1

1939 November
A telephone conversation between Aimée and President Vargas
was intercepted by a German Rio de Janeiro based spy.
The fashionista's life is in danger.
She had to instantly disappear from Paris.
After hiding in Meudon
Robert de Billy drover her to le Havre
where she took the ferry boat to New York
as Madame Lopez.



Two decades later
Chanel returns to Paris

Aftre leaving Paris without notice
Chanel had to wait 20 years before seeing Aimée again.

The war is over, a friendship is reborn.
Coco Chanel, after spending a long time in Lausanne,
returns to Paris in 1954.
The two women develop the habit of taking walks in the middle of the night.

Chanel suffered from insomnia
and Aimée often returned home late from a party.
From their hotels around Place Vendome,
The Ritz for Gabrielle Chanel and the Meurice for Aimée de Heeren
the two women walked along Rue Saint Honoré
toward the all-night Les Halles market.

After a drink at Maison Rouge (N°7)
they walked around Cremerie de Paris N°1
and on the staircase behind the showroom
Chanel told her the stories around the invention du N°5
and they spoke about people they had bith known
long time ago.



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1970 just before Xmas their last walk.
Chanel takes a small pocket out of her coat
containing a "Christmas present"
that Aimée was supposed to keep as a luck bringer,
the little jewel


Aimée left Paris the next morning,
20 jours later
1971 January 10
Chanel left this world.





A bay window offers a view of the historic courtyard
of the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon
from 9 Rue des Déchargeurs
right through the showroom.

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Again Two decade later
Chanel's friend Aimée
meeting a young student



Years go by ....

The young man in the picture,
alread in the long history as a child 15 years earlier
still has in mind
to get Cremerie de Paris back to life.
But how to do this ?

Unfortunately from the Romanov fortunes
nothing was left for him
no shares, no objects
only
a touch of glamour,

The glamour was called Aimée de Heeren.

Aimée still liked to walk through Paris
in the middle of the night.
She was missing Chanel's company.
Whom could she ask to be a new company
for her Paris night walks ?

One day Aimée meets a young student.

The student had just turned 20.
He was amused by the idea.
Aimée was so beautiful
that most people met on the road turned and looked back.

But at that time, he didn't realize
that he was with someone much much older than he beleived
who was taking him across time.
He also didn't realize that his company was
one of the most influential secret agents of World War II.



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1993 Cremerie de Paris N°1
the place on the grounds
of the Pavillon des Drapiers
was for sale.

The small Cremerie de Paris N°2
had already reopened
as a booming Sony phone store.

But impossible to get a real estate loan.
In France it is very difficult
to get financing for people
when they are very young.

Finally Deutsche Bank from Saarbruecken
locatd 5 km from the French border accpted the idea,
but they were asking for
a down payment that was exceeding
the possibilities of the Phone Boutique ....

Aimée was fascinated by the project.
This place with so many fashion stories
including the ones of her friend Gabrielle Chanel ...

She took the little jewel Chanel
had left her and decided to sell it
to help increase the bank deposit.

Thanks to the money from the jewel
Deutsche Bank Saarbrueken
loctated only 5 km from the French border
accepted to finance the project.

Cremerie de Paris N°1 reopended
as if Chanel that had already left this world
two decades before
had decided to continue the story ...



Avant-garde Internet Cafe
VB.com


1993 Reopening of the former Pavillon des Drapier
not yet as "Showroom Paris"
but as something completely new at the time,
the first Internet Cafe in Franec
called "Cybercafe de Paris".

The Cybercafe was so much avant-garde
electricity got turned off all the time.
The only clients were a few American tourists
desperately looking for a web connection
in the French capital.

Among them people you don't meet every day.
One had been on the first flight to the moon,
another one was the inventor of "dot com"
and Steve Jobs not happy the cafe only used Sony computers offered us an iMac
so that Apple would be part of the story.


The situation chenges in 1999
more and mor people arrive at the webcafe (showroom)
but in 2005 internet starts to be everywhere.
The cafe closes and the place is rented as a showroom
for houshold equipments.


Are left from the Cybercafe years many beautiful souvenirs and an exceptionnal collection
of ultra easy internet domains.
The web domains which include the Two Letter domain
VB.com, Showroom Paris.com or Visit 75001.com
give a lot of visibility to brands
that want their products to be seen.



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Again Two decades later
Fashion Showrooms
almost 20 years after the Cybercafe
arrives the first fashion showroom.


2012 Nike Barbershop is the first one
One of the visitors of the Cybercafe
helped to attract America's most famous fashion brand.
Nike wanted to in the place that had seen a man from the Moon walk through it's doors.
The Barbershop was part of a project
that took place in 7 cities around the globe.


Nike Barbershop organized by
Antoine Leca and Victoire Guillaumet


all what is left from the Pavillon des Drapiers
on rue des Dechargeurs is a geographic point
that has seen a unique fashion story
as nobody else.

The facade has been preserved
and transferred to the Musée Carnavalet.



More Showrooms and Pop Up Stores
add new glamour chapters
to a long story



3D Visit of Showroom Paris N°1 decorated as a Museum
A retrospective of the most beautiful Showrooms and Brand Expos are shown in the VB.com Museum,
so they continue to be admired
even when an event is over.


2013 Opening of our cafe Gladines (N°3)



2014 to 2016 5 FW Showroom from Marc Cain
organized by Maria-Cora Eichenauer and Yann Le Meilleur

2016 Showroom Paris N°6
already part of our Sony network in the 1990s
the showroom came back. It is facing
Showroom N°1 on the other side of
place Marguerite de Navarre.
Also opening our Brasserie Masion Rouge (N°7 and N°8)

.
2717 in between our locations
opens the new subway exit Marguerite de Navarre
making it extremly easy to arrive at the Showrooms
from both Paris Aeroports
CDG and Orly are at a distance of 30 min).



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2019 Showroom Paris N°9
a 120 + 57 m2 Showroom
located on rue Saint Honoré at a distance of 150 m
is completing the collection


Under Armour Showroom 2018
organized by Catherine North and Alex Delatour



FW Showroom 2020 January by Misbhv
organized by Patrycja Szklarczyk


2023 Showroom Coca Cola
organized by Zyad Rouissi
with the singer Rosalia Vila Tobela



2023 Christmas Showroom de Noel by Chivas
designed by Victoire Guillaumet, Victor Daussy
and the jewellery artist Dolly Cohen



2024 January FW Showroom from Korea by Adererror
organized by Seyoung Kim with scuptures of Kiwon Lee

The Pop Up Store Museum
can be seen in between events taking place
at Showroom N°1.
The windows start to become a tourist attraction.







Who is next ?