New
Exhibition Catalogue - LA NAISSANCE DES GRANDS MAGASINS. MODE, DESIGN, JOUETS, PUBLICITÉ, 1852-1925

Description

From 1850 onwards, economic prosperity in France was conducive to the development of a new concept that laid the foundations of modern commerce and the consumer society: department stores. Headed by great entrepreneurs such as Aristide Boucicaut, Jules Jaluzot and the Cognacq-Jay couple, they took advantage of the capital's urban transformations to build vast empires thanks to new commercial techniques - such as the invention of sales and mail-order sales - that enabled them to build customer and employee loyalty. Skillfully designed shop windows enchanted passers-by, inviting them to come and discover a profusion of articles: clothes, gloves, hats, lingerie, collars, shoes, handbags, fans, buttons, lace... Described by Zola in Au bonheur des dames, these stores transformed the figure of the bourgeois woman who, as their main customer, became their advertising target, soon followed by children with the appearance of the first departments dedicated to toys. These temples to shopping ingeniously deployed their offer and also published furniture designed by contemporary decorating artists such as Maurice Dufrêne. The Pomone studio for Au Bon Marché, Studium for the Louvre department stores, Primavera for Printemps and La Maîtrise for Galeries Lafayette reached their peak when they were presented at the 192 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts.