I've mentioned it often in this newsletter, Parisians love to linger at their cafés. These establishments are truly pillars of the city; Paris simply wouldn't exist without them.
And there's something I love in most cafés, though I don't even know its proper name, so I've dubbed them disco ball columns.
These are structural columns that likely support the entire building, covered in tiny mirror fragments, exactly like a disco ball.
Most cafés that still feature these columns aren't new establishments, they showcase some wonderful old-time design, and I love it.
This is the kind of detail that isn't practical, probably difficult to clean, and replacing even one mirror piece might be impossible, but it adds beauty throughout the city.
I vividly remember when I first noticed these columns. I was at an exhibition about Agnès Varda at the Cinémathèque and saw this picture from her film Cleo de 5 à 7. Beyond the fact that Corinne Marchand looks incredibly cool in this image, I thought this column perfectly captured the mood of 1960s Paris.
I might actually do a whole newsletter just on this movie, because it’s basically a love letter to the 6th arrondissement, making it look way cooler than it really is today. Let’s be honest, nowadays, the 6th is mostly overpriced terraces where you sip white wine for €90, and rich kids from Montaigne puffing away on their vapes.
I don’t know who decided that this was the kind of design people needed in cafés back then, or why so many of them kept those columns intact. Honestly, when I tried to Google it, I came up with nothing.
I like to think I’m the only person in Paris truly obsessed with this design, and I secretly hope it stays around for another hundred years.
on adore 🪩💃🏻✨