Designer Spotlight: Starring Marion Hanania of Good Guys Don't Wear Leather

I stumbled upon vegan shoe brand Good Guys Don't Wear Leather a couple of weeks ago when I was beginning my search for a pair of spring booties. Though vegan leather isn't a necessary condition when it comes to my choice of footwear, I became momentarily obsessed with the brand's imitation suede booties, loafers, and brogues that I made it my business to meet up with its vegan founder and designer, Marion Hanania, when I was in Paris. (I've also seriously wondered the viability of veganism in France given that the typical French meal is comprised of meat, dairy, and eggs. Quiche Lorraine, anyone?)

Marion is the type of person who exudes creativity. When I met her, she was wearing an OshKosh denim jumper that not many people over the age of five can pull off. Whenever I meet someone successful in a creative field, I always want to know how they got to where they are now, which in Marion's case, is exhibiting her Fall 2014 line at the Don't Believe the Hype exhibit in the Tuileries.

She's a lifelong Parisian whose creative juices have been flowing since a young age. Proof: she has always loved to draw and her grandmother was a fashion designer. Now 33, Marion studied fashion design at L’école Duperré, a fashion school in Paris, and started her own company after winning a contest for which she could design anything of her choosing. She explained that though she was initially drawn to clothing, she wanted to try her hand at something new, so she opted for footwear. Before launching Good Guys two and a half years ago, she spent almost ten years working as a freelance shoe designer for fashion icons like Isabel Marant. (She isn't responsible for the wedge sneaker though.)

She started Good Guys out of a desire to bring something new to the shoe market: unisex vegan shoes. The shoes look and feel like leather and suede, but they're made of breathable microfibers, canvas, and natural rubber. She likes to keep her styles basic but is always on the hunt for the newest and most animal-friendly materials.

When I asked her my hard-hitting question of how one could be a vegan in France, she didn't have much to say except that it's pretty hard. As for her shoes, she wasn't sure how they'd first be received in France, but we can assume quite well because they're currently front and center in the windows of Colette. I'm planning on making the Duke bootie (below) my spring shoes once I get myself over to MooShoes on the Lower East Side to snag a pair.

Check out Good Guys' e-shop here, and its bumpin' Tumblr ova here.

Designer Spotlight: Starring Louise Damas

I came across Louise Damas’jewelry collection while combing through various blogs and online shopping sites a couple of weeks ago—otherwise known as my favorite form of multitasking. As soon as I clicked into her e-shop, I wanted to adorn myself in all of the accouterments on her site and then meet her because both she and her jewelry seemed so effortlessly cool.

I went to go visit Louise at her apartment-cum-workshop on an 11^th arrondissement street close to Père Lachaise cemetery last week. Home to grungy chic Oberkampf, the 11^th has the sketchy hip vibe that attracts post-college creative types (uh, hipsters). I wouldn’t say it’s the Brooklyn of Paris though—maybe the Long Island City? Actually, I have no idea.

As expected, Louise is the quintessential cool Parisian. Born and raised in Paris, she graduated from the Sorbonne two years ago with a degree in literature and launched her jewelry line during her final year of school. She’s a DIY evangelist and has been creating things since she was younger, so jewelry making was a natural hobby, and now career, for her to fall into. I wondered if she’d be at a nondescript entry-level job if she weren’t designing jewelry (do they have those in hashtag France?), but she claims she’d be studying for a higher degree in literature. Girl crush alert: I love people who love studying.

She hasn’t left literature behind though, and much of her inspiration comes from the great heroines of European classics. Emile Zola, Charles Baudelaire, Stefan Zweig, and Colette rank among her top authors, and one of her favorite pieces in her new collection is a ring named after Mrs. C, the main character in Zweig’s Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman. The walls of Louise’s workshop are lined with books: a collection of rare editions passed down from her grandmother, two sets of encyclopedias, and stacks of livre de poche books that could have only been purchased with a class syllabus in hand.

Currently at work on her third collection, she makes all of her pieces at a desk in her apartment. Aside from the usual necklace-bracelet-ring combo that constitutes a run of the mill jewelry collection, her new line incorporates ear cuffs, headbands, and shirt collars, and includes strands of gold braids, Swarovski crystals, and semi-precious stones. Her line is currently available at a few boutiques in Paris and online at her e-shop, which you can buy (and ship to the Etats-Unis!) here.

Bobo chic, no? Au revoir! 

Paris to Mont Saint Michel

A few more notes re: Paris. When I wasn't traipsing around pretending I was Adele in the Someone Like You video, I went to the Premiere Class Exhibition, a trade show of sorts in a giant tent in the Twooo-ler-eeeze where hundreds of clothing and accessories brands exhibit their collections for the upcoming season. I got to wear a press pass around my neck and I felt all sorts of awkward as I walked around without a clue of what was going on. It's quite cool, and I felt extra triumphant when I sought refuge in the tent after running away from a gang of gypsies who had bombarded me asking if I spoke English. Yah, I do. The exhibition is kind of a double edged sword for shopaholics like lil' old me because while I got to look at hundreds of clothes and shoes and bags, I couldn't buy any of them until they hit stores in the summer. Tant pis. I did get a cool canvas bag though. Swag, ya know?

One of the collections on display was Le Mont St. Michel, a Brittany-based brand that has a Parisian vibe akin to Maje, Sandro, Claude Pierlot and all those designers who have now set up shop on the second floor of Bloomingdales. Madewell and Steven Alan sell some of Le Mont St. Michel's goodies, but to get the full effect you might have to transplant yourself to one of their boutiques in hashtag Paris.

Le Mont St. Michel is the best thing since sliced bread for those of us who wear striped shirts every day of the week. They've perfected the striped top in both shirt and sweater form, and if my conversion skills are correct, the tops are cheaper than those from Saint James. They also have some bomb diggity graphic sweatshirts and loose slacks. Clicky clicky here to see what I mean.

PS. The brand's namesake, uh, Le Mont Saint Michel, is one of the neatest places evar. It may or may not be one of the wonders of the world. I'm too lazy to check on Google, so if you find out, LMK. I once tried to give myself an impromptu spa treatment using the sand on its beach because I thought it would have that Dead Sea effect of clearing my acne. It didn't.