{"id":1756,"date":"2024-07-12T07:49:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T07:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/?p=1756"},"modified":"2024-07-18T10:38:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T10:38:53","slug":"citron-a-paillett-all-of-us-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/citron-a-paillett-all-of-us-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Citron \u00e0 Paillettes: All of Us Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story by Rae Daniels-Henderson<\/a>
Photos by Elizabeth Coleman<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amid the rows of garmets and accessories, you’ll find a cotton-stuffed Camargue. Creatively made by designer Christine Hector, these plush companions represent many of the wild-life beloved in the regional natural park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From the street, Citron \u00e0 Paillettes blends into the facades of the Arles downtown. But once you enter the petite boutique you\u2019re teleported into a world of color and creativity, awe and wonder. Stuffed pink flamingos fill a shelf. Bookmarks, handbags, book jackets and headbands of every color cover one wall and a photo exhibit covers another. It\u2019s easy to tell at a glance that this is a store like no other.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Citron \u00e0 Paillettes stands out among boutiques because of its unusual business model: the people working there are also the designers and creators of the goods sold within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citron \u00e0 Paillettes is run by a collective of nine fashion designers from different parts of the South of France who bring their own diverse backgrounds to their work. They create works of wonder, from the one-of-a-kind flamingoes, handcrafted jewelry made by a mother-daughter duo, handbags and book covers made exclusively from Japanese fabric, to feminine floral yet comfortable pieces made by the founder herself, Audrey Sigovic-Garcia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patricia Romance loves accessories. In an effort to limit waste of her materials, Romance has found creative ways to use every piece of fabric. She designs a diverse line of accessories and personal goods from handbags, scarves and hats to book marks, book covers and coin purses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can be inside on a rainy day, have random objects and string and I will create a necklace,\u201d says Sigovic-Garcia. Her eyes light up as she smiles and explains that she likes creating with her hands. She presses them together palm side up and motions with them to demonstrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sigovic-Garcia has been creating for as long as she can remember. She is a fashion designer, but has also worked as a project designer. Sigovic-Garcia\u2019s clothing line is strategically named, \u201cLa Rose \u00e0 Pois,\u201d (the Polka Dot Rose). Her apparel embodies that spirit: a bold and vibrant mixing of floral and dotted or striped patterns with very feminine cuts and romantic flowy sleeves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The store is home to a rainbow of colors creating a bright and welcoming environment for anyone looking to bring a bold twist into their wardrobe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sigovic-Garcia\u2019s ready-to-wear line inspired by post-war dress, Victorian Silhouettes and Asian perfumes is crafted from her home. She needed to find a way to reach customers to sell her designs, so she assembled a collective of talented fashion designers she bonded with over the years to have a center where eight others can share and sell their creations with the Arlesian community in a \u201ccreators space\u201d becoming Citron \u00e0 Paillettes, which in English means “Glitter Lemon.” The original space was only a few streets down but was damaged during the flood in 2003. The collective has been in the current location for 20 years now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During my first visit to Citron \u00e0 Paillettes, I had the pleasure of meeting Eric Deveaux. I stopped and was admiring a beautiful blue, white and black floral top when he explained to me that he made it himself, \u201cI created all of these.\u201d He motioned to his specific section of the store displaying his other colorful dresses, skirts, and blouses. Deveaux, owner of  Sur les Traces d\u2019un Nomade, started sewing 25 years ago \u201cout of frustration because his arms were too long,\u201d and has been making beautiful clothes ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The flamingoes lining the walls find new homes around the world. Customers send photos of their flamingo to designer Christine Hector for her to add to a map with push pins tracking where in the world her flamingoes have travelled.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All of the designers create their pieces then bring them to the boutique to sell, they all take shifts at the store. With each visit I got to meet someone new, like Patricia Romance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romance originally attended fashion school for apparel making, but found more joy in making accessories, \u201cI love accessories and was a fan at the beginning, then I started making my own and just stayed there.\u201d With Japanese floral fabrics, Romance makes elegant and timeless things like purses, book covers, and headbands without any trend in mind. Her brand is made from what inspires her. When Romance has no need for excess fabric she gives it to Id\u00e9e du Jour\u2019s creator Christine Hector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 9 designers of Citron \u00e0 Paillettes dedicate themselves to their craft creating intricate and delicate treasures for anyone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hector has known Sigovic-Garcia for 17 years. Before coming back to Arles she worked as a stylist in Paris. Hector goes back to Paris to teach sewing classes at three schools; ESMOD, CREAPOLE, and MODE ESTAH.  When she is not teaching, she creates her one-of-a kind decorative flamingos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She documents each one\u2019s destination by placing a push pin on a map at home. Hector utilizes anything that she finds to bring these majestic Camargue natives to life. When I asked about the different types of materials she used, her face lit up. She said that she found an abandoned vacuum cleaner in her neighborhood and made that into a flamingo and it now resides in her home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The way that this collective has maintained their business for so long is by being \u201cimaginative\u201d enough and collaborating to create new moods for the store throughout the seasons. They were fortunate enough to not be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or rent spikes, unlike many small stores worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story has built a loyal clientele. \u201cI create the clothes so that women feel beautiful and comfortable within themselves,\u201d Sigovic-Garcia said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inspired by Japanese textiles, many of the designers in Citron \u00e0 Paillettes share their fabrics to remain eco-conscious and limit waste. This collaboration also creates a beautifully curated and cohesive style within the store.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story by Rae Daniels-HendersonPhotos by Elizabeth Coleman From the street, Citron \u00e0 Paillettes blends into the facades of the Arles downtown. But once you enter the petite boutique you\u2019re teleported into a world of color and creativity, awe and wonder. Stuffed pink flamingos fill a shelf. Bookmarks, handbags, book jackets and headbands of every color … Continue reading Citron \u00e0 Paillettes: All of Us Together<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":1757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-1756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-arles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/coleman_2024_citron-a-paillettes_001-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1756"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1917,"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756\/revisions\/1917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}