A week in the life of an Australian fashion director at Paris Fashion Week

A très chic week.

We’re fresh off the back of a week of vino, croissants and boudoir meetings following a team business (and pleasure) trip to France. As the Fashion Director of Albert Park’s Stable boutique, this is the first year in many that an overseas buying jaunt has been allowed. I departed with my faithful right and left-hand women: Nicole Williams (Art Director and socials), and Bella Hart (Buyer and production) last week, and it has been the most magnificent time.

Although there are a lot of fashion weeks around the world, for me, Paris Fashion Week (PFW) embodies everything I need for an inspiration injection – and all of Stable’s brands show at this market. After such a long waiting period, it’s so great to be working in this city with people I’ve known for years. And there’s so much to be said for the joy of seeing collections in real life again. God, it’s good to be back!

For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.

If you’re wondering what exactly we got up to, ate and saw, the Stable ensemble has collectively compiled a reverse itinerary of the expedition. Nicole has also kindly captured the whimsical sites and street-style marvels we admired during the trip. In these vignettes, you’ll see we started our trip in true French fashion: with a cheeseboard from the local market, crisp rosé and a strategy meeting.

This was closely followed by a walk around the Jewish quarter for the famous falafels – the perfect ending for a long day of travel. We collapsed in our chic apartment and prepared for five days of French frivolities, sartorial splendour and major career highlights, all in the name of our beautiful Melbourne boutique and the community we’ve carved there.

Day one

Le Marais is always my favourite place to stay, as a lot of the brands’ showrooms are in the area. Being a creature of habit, I always start my mornings at Cafe Charlot: it’s my fashion week go-to. After a Formule Coup de Coeur (The Favourite Formula) for breakfast, we headed to one of our biggest and long-standing brands, Ganni. it was great to finally see the collection in real life and meet our Ganni crew, after two years of Zoom showings.

We loved catching up with George from The Known Agency, where we picked up Wynn Hamlyn as a new brand for Stable. This was followed by By Far, where we couldn’t ignore the metallic themes shining through. Our first launch of By Far coming this November. I like to start my buy with the shoes, as it tends to dictate the silhouettes for the season. We’re seeing low block heels, crystal studs over everything and the cowboy boot as the hero. It’s all about the accessories!

Next up was Self Portrait and it didn’t disappoint. As much as this brand has a strong DNA, we tend to buy into more of its fashion-forward pieces. Think colour, crystals and sexy.

Our first full day at PFW finished with a celebratory dinner for Nicole’s belated birthday at Clown Bar. I knew she would love it! Records and a negroni to end the night at Bambino. C’était magnifique, non?

Day two

Day two was planned with a tight schedule but when we fortuitously came across the Stine Goya showroom, we knew we had to stay to pull an edit together. We can’t wait to bring this super poppy and embellished collection to Stable.

It had been so long since I had done a fashion week, I forgot how much running around was involved. Day one was a heels day, so it was time to slip on the sneakers. I kept my travel wardrobe pretty simple with blazers, wide-leg pants and shirts that pair back with any style of footwear.

With lots of friends from Paris and in town for PFW, we arranged a big table at Hotel Amour in their super cute courtyard to bring all of these fabulous women together. Bella and Nic went out to some fashion week hotspots. It’s considered part of the job catching up with friends from other showrooms out of hours, and that’s honestly where our best work is done.

Day three

The next chapter of Stable is excitingly close. Upon our return, our Bridport Street Albert Park boutique renovation will be completed, and our foray into fine jewellery will begin. To mark this special occasion, I wanted to treat the team to the immersive experience that is Le Doyenné: a farm-to-table restaurant an hour outside of Paris.

It was incredibly magical wandering the farm, picking berries, smelling the fresh French country air and eating incredible food. This was the perfect place to introduce the team to my dear friend, a luxury experience director and fine jewellery expert. Lesley walked us through everything we needed to know for this new level of experience about to happen at Stable.

Day four

Day four started with one of our house favourite brands, Rixo London. We were greeted by our friends in a beautiful showroom, filled with antiques and vintage pieces they had trucked over from London. It couldn’t have been more Rixo! It was such an epic collection, so you better stay tuned for the launch next year.

Sometimes the magic of fashion week is going to some of the tradeshows and discovering the new and upcoming designers you know are going to blow up. We think we found a few gems, and can’t wait to show you. The jewellery showroom was another highlight and everything just looked like glittering candy.

We got excited to merch this product in our new space! After day four, it was clear – from other international buyers to the local Parisians, trans-seasonal outerwear was the vibe. Think oversize blazers and long-lined trenches.

Day five

We started the day with dreamy showrooms inside some of the most beautiful buildings. Then came an integral part of the trip: checking out other retail spaces and shopping. Merci, Tom Greyhound, Le Bon Marché, Broken Arm and Samaritan. These are some great shopping (or window shopping) spots for anyone travelling to Paris.

Among all of this, we had lots of paperwork to do before we all fly out. A bistro lunch with our laptops to punch out orders and watch the street style was the perfect ending to an ever-inspiring trip. C’est tout!

Browse the Stable collection here.