So read the headline of an article published by Libération, one of France’s leading national newspapers. This feature, written by Marseille-born Esther Teillard, quickly prompted, back in April 2025 when it came out, a wave of criticism over its portrayal of Marseille through the eyes of Parisians who had fallen out of love with the city. On social media, many people accused her of relying on clichés.

At the time, Esther Teillard had rejected the criticism. She had argued that her intention was to examine the city’s growing gentrification, while pointing out that Marseille was—is—her hometown. (And so she was entitled to write about it.) Esther Teillard’s report, somewhat one-sided, had at least raised one interesting question:

After years of being the new trendy eldorado for Parisians, and the fashion sphere in particular, was Marseille losing some of its interest?

I still remember when the OM supporting city became appealing in the eyes of the fashionable crowd. The “Parisian invasion”, as described even today, ironically or not, by every Marseille-born I’ve met, began during and after Covid. At a time when, work from home exposing our Paris’ too small apartments, many of us realized how bad living conditions we had—I mean have—up here. Add to that Paris’ bad weather, a never-ending winter, and you had enough reasons to move to Marseille. Digital nomadism also accelerated the influx of Parisians into the city.

Truth be told, living in Marseille with a Parisian income certainly had/has its perks. Even today, as Parisian gentrification came by and sent property prices soaring all over Marseille.

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But Marseille’s growing appeal was a work in progress since the mid-2010s. France’s second city didn’t just wake up one morning and decided to be cool. Or fashionable, for that matter. It was more of a slow burn. Over the past decade or so, some of the coolest people in the country emerged from and/or implanted themselves in Marseille. Looking beyond Paris, these actors of the cultural scene in general started to sell, first and foremost to their followers, a newly transformed Marseille, one shaped out of their globalized brains.

(LA)HORDE is a case in point. In September 2019, the dance company, founded by then Paris-based creative directors Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, and Arthur Harel, took over the helm of Ballet National de Marseille. Void Island (2014), Room With A View (2020), Age of Content (2023), or their 2026’s creation, Après moi, le déluge… The trio made a name for itself through works exploring hyperconnectivity and the systemic violence of today’s societies.

Madonna was the first pop star to call them. Between 2023 and 2024, LA(HORDE) shaped her monumental Celebration Tour. Last year, Rosalía called them as well for the movement direction of her LUX Tour, still going around the world.

If (LA)HORDE’s success does embody the resurgence of a dynamic cultural scene in Marseille, with the MUCEM’s initiatives and other cultural structures like FRAC—all of which directly contributed to Marseille’s so-called coolness—, the fashion world particularly had been flirting with the city for quite a while.

Or so fashion journalist and writer Alice Pfeiffer told me. Like a lot of people in the industry, Alice has been going to Marseille every summer for almost a decade. She wrote about it in her books, notably Je ne suis pas Parisienne (Stock, 2019). Distinguishing the “Parisian girl” from “la Marseillaise,” Alice argues that they aren’t opposed, at least not exactly. To her, they are different in essence. “La Marseillaise” is autonomous, freer by nature, because she refuses to submit to any aesthetic but her own, and “especially not to that Parisian girl’s” minimalistic, white, and effortless beauty.

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When we spoke over the phone last week, Alice also stressed out that our growing fascination with Marseille was inextricably linked to its rise as a fashion destination—as journalists, brands and cultural institutions increasingly ventured, over the last five years alone, extramuros.

In May 2024, Chanel presented what would be designer Virginie Viard’s last show (before Matthieu Blazy’s appointment), a Resort 2025 collection, on the rooftop terrace of Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse. The ultimate recognition of Marseille’s coolness? Kind of, yeah: considering that Chanel, the most exclusive brand in the world by far, was finally turning its attention to the city.

Before Chanel however, other brands had ventured into la cité phocéenne. In their own way: was not Balenciaga’s 2021 best-selling bag called, “Le Cagole”? Introduced under Demna’s creative direction (2015-2025), and now one of Gen-Z’s it bags, Le Cagole comes from “la cagole”: the very slang term for these Marseille-born flashy, provocative, overly noisy, and unapologetic confident women.

“The fashion gaze [is now] saying: ‘Marseille is cool and photogenic’. But it’s a view from Paris”, nuanced Alice.

I did ask her about that Jacquemus effect because it may have seemed, to me and many others, as the most striking explanation of Marseille’s shift to an attractive place for the fashion aficionados. “I think [Simon Porte Jacquemus] allowed the South to be part of the fashion imaginary; he managed to turn it into something that could be fantasized about, especially through a foreign eye. But it’s a moodboard that belongs to him. [...].”

Does it though? I mean, does that moodboard belongs, especially nowadays, to Simon Porte Jacquemus alone? On the contrary, it feels like this Marseille’s fantasy “through a foreign eye”, justly pointed out by Alice, is something every cool brand did, or will, try to capitalize on. Recently, K-Way organized a three-days press trip to Marseille, praising the merits of the Southern city. K-Way was just another piece of the puzzle. At this point, I lost count of the many press trips invitations I received for a Marseillaise “escapade”. During my week there, I was very much surprised to find posters for Saint Laurent’s summer campaign on every bus stop, despite the brand still having no physical stores in Marseille.

Could all this still-vibrant appeal from the fashion world, so tangibly visible in today’s Marseille, explain why I encountered, for the first time, so many Americans around Le Vieux-Port and in Cours Julien’s bars this summer? As I mentioned, I’ve been going to Marseille for a long time; yet, until a few days ago, Americans were basically not there, or so few were. Did they realize, this year especially, and thanks to all of the things previously mentioned, that Marseille was finally worth taking a look at?

Marseille, or the coolness that… won’t be tamed

Is Marseille still cool? Without any doubt: it is. If only judging by the sheer number of IG Stories posted by Parisians over the summer, from fashion people or otherwise, Marseille remains attractive and very much fashionable! Tuba Club is still filled with the coolest crowds, despite its scandalous prices. And once again this summer, half of the Parisian fashion executives were to be seen in trendy neighborhood Endoume, where I stayed, too.

This year, one of the Parisian coolest partying collectifs also took its quarters in Marseille. “AÏE” party was one of my Marseille’s highlights, attracting, among others, former Courrèges’ creative director Nicolas Di Felice, along with some fashion editors and Paris’ coolest kids. “Of course, Marseille is still cool and we love it as a way to close the summer. It’s a gentle means to ease into the upcoming season before the madness of Fashion Month”, told me one of Paris’ major models agent I stayed with.

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In late May, as the first heatwave struck the French capital, I could see Havaianas everywhere I went. While thinking aloud, walking around Quai de Jemmapes with my friend Valentin, yet another heatwave was hitting Paris. But there were no flip-flops to be seen.

“We’re witnessing more of a gang-bang summer than a flip-flops summer, if you ask me”, commented my sassy friend.

Valentin pointed at some (gay) boys lying on the Canal’s banks. Since swimming was allowed in May by recently elected mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, certain stretches of the area have occasionally become open-air cruising spots. If this is a topic for another day, this sweltering walk made me wonder what happened in the fashion industry when everything came to a standstill in August—strictly speaking, that said, in most European countries. Don’t ask why my brain made all these strange connections, but it did!

After Ibiza, I traded the madness for a slower spell in Paris, before my next adventure in the Mediterranean. I took this downtime to think about that fashionable summer idea from, well, a different perspective. Scrolling at IG stories, once home, I noticed that Spanish designer María Bernad was posting shots from her atelier in 10th-arrondissement La Caserne, a hub for sustainable fashion that gives space to emerging designers. Was María still at work or was she late-posting?

A few texts later, it turned out that she was actually working that day and the days before. It was the perfect opportunity for me to speak with her about my summer endeavor. Forget about the lifestyle-party-girl side of the fashionable summer, as mentioned in The Defrost’s previous episodes (Catch it all up here.)

This time, the phrase was quite literal: as a fashion designer, María was working on her fashion designs. And so she was having, too, a fashionable summer of her own. “It’s actually a very busy time because I’m working on my Fall/Winter collection, which is going to be released in October, after Fashion Week. [...]

But I’m also working on my first made-to-order wedding collection, which is going to launch in LA”, the gorgeous brunette told me.

María founded her upcycling label, Les Fleurs Studio, almost ten years ago. The project first began in 2017 as a digital platform on which she sold vintage pieces sourced from various places. After graduating, the Spanish-born turned Parisian took things a step further, creating her first collection from second-hand garments and recycled fabrics.

I attended her first runway show, a Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear collection, in Paris Menswear Fashion Week, on January 2025. Since then, Les Fleurs Studio has grown into a fully-fledged label with an eclectic, unisex, and complete wardrobe, defined by its distinctive aesthetic.

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María specializes in crochet. She raised her craft to a such an impressive level; I mean she conceives everything from and with crochet: tops, trousers, scarves, and her beloved wedding dresses! “You can breathe in crochet. Everything is so easy and flowy, so you can adapt the brand entirely for summer”, said the designer, who is also a stylist and an influencer.

“I’m drawn to very different aesthetics and contrasts. Sometimes I can be very soft, and other times much more punk.” María brought together everything she had learned, and the aesthetic she had always dreamed of, with all of her Spanish-cultured references, became Les Fleurs Studio.

A sense of eclecticism that’s making her, nowadays, one of the most inspiring fashion designers in the Paris Fashion Week calendar. But what about her fashionable summer then? Was it only about work? “I don’t know about a ‘fashionable summer’. For me, it’s just being by the sea, somewhere that isn’t really hot, reading a book. Just going to little markets with my little basket”, smiled María in her second-floor atelier in La Caserne, where I met her last Friday. Her maze of clothes, often white crochet dresses that seemed alive without making a move, was an experience in itself.

“In summer time, I have more time to reflect. There are fewer people in Paris. Normally, you have all the design work, but then you also have your accountant calling, etc. [...] As everyone is away, it’s such a nice time to reflect and also analyse what is working better. [...] It’s a really nice time for the creative process itself. I also love to meditate”, she added.

As I sat down to write the opening lines of this letter, I realized that a truly fashionable summer may also be one like hers. One that, as María puts it, you can fashion entirely on your own terms.

A summer shaped out of freedom from constraints: no deadlines, no plans to rush back home, and nobody… to bother you.

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María Bernad on flip-flops, an empty Paris and being “une Bretonne” for some days

What are you working on at the moment? Are you preparing a new collection, or are you resting?

I wish I could rest more. Right now, I’m working on Halloween Bridal, and the season runs through November. So every week during August, I need to deliver dresses for brides. It’s been a lot of work, and I use the weekends to get inspired and source new materials, just to find new things and gather inspiration.

So summer is actually a very busy season for you because of the bridal work?

Yeah, it’s been very busy. I don’t really get a rest. I’ll take my rest in November.

How many people are working with you at the atelier at the moment?

Five people, with me making six.

Are you working on any special dresses or projects that you can talk about?

At the same time, which is another reason why it’s such a busy time for me, I’m working on a Fall/Winter collection that I’m going to release in October. It’s actually a very busy period because I’m preparing the last pieces of the season. I’m working on the Fall/Winter collection, which is going to be released in October, after Fashion Week. We’re going to do a drop. It’s the first time I’m making jackets, actually. And then in November, I’m launching my first made-to-order wedding collection, which is going to launch in LA.

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...The Defrost, my new Substack’s Letter. Nearly a decade in the magazine industry later, I felt I needed a space to explore stories that don’t expire with the news cycle. Ideas, observations, sometimes obsessions that deserve more than the Internet usually allows them—before they disappear into oblivion!

(If you want to learn why Kylian Mbappé, Leo DiCaprio and Central Cee are Fashion’s Ultimate Party Girls, keep reading until the end…)

A few days ago, I introduced the idea of a fashionable summer. (Catch it all up here.)

My investigation started in Barcelona. I noticed that the Catalan capital became cool, but not that cool to be part, at least yet, of the fashionable summer’s circuit. (And that may be because it’s not exactly considered a real party city yet… as fashion would, I mean.) I flew to Ibiza next—suspected the official, historical even, fashionable summer’s destination. There, I experienced one thing true about the concept:

Partying is at the very core of a fashionable summer.

Why is the ‘party girl’ the original ‘fashionable (summer) girl’, you may ask? First, let’s forget about some supposed fashionable (summer) girls you grew up with. Sex and the City’s 1998 Carrie Bradshaw for instance. She was never a ‘party girl’ at all. She used to go out the way (straight) men and women, also the way average Americans believe we have to. As a means to an end: to meet someone that we would go home with. All of this is outdated today.

2026’s fashionable/party girls—the word ‘girls’ associated with party or fashionable being genderless here, since I use it as a concept—are something else entirely. They’d go to Berlin’s Berghain alone if they had to. ‘Date night’? Please. By the way, if you’re into matcha and silence retreats, you’re technically out already. Today’s party girls are extensions of Daisy von Scherler Mayer’s 1995 eponymous movie in which the ‘party girl’ was introduced as a fashion character.

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In the film, actress Parker Posey is Mary, this New Yorker obsessed with parties. Partying is who she is. And she dresses for it, moves through the city for it. She knows where to go and who to see. Mary cultivates a chaotic, eclectic wardrobe. A bit much like her nights all around the city, she mixes vintage Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier with thrift finds, fur, and corsets... Party Girl turned going out into a whole aesthetic. The party girl suddenly had a look, an attitude, a lifestyle. Mary’s character never really disappeared.

Fashion keeps reinventing it.

The librarian chic girl, the Miu Miu girl, the indie sleaze girl, the brat girl? They’re all about the same party girl fantasy. Party girls have become part of fashion’s very idea of cool. The ultimate party girl—well the most chic one, that is—is the Saint Laurent girl. She embodies, perhaps, the summum of coolness. The Y2K trend revival also added another aesthetic to it. Remember Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears photographed in a car in 2006? The Y2K girl is also, in its essence, a party girl. From the 90’s even, pics of Naomi and Kate Moss have been blurring the party girl with the fashion girl.

More than ever, the dancefloor is a runway.

A way trickier one, you’d say, considering what people could look like and be seen at doing. Being fashionable today, and especially in summer situations, isn’t just about dressing well or being seen in the right places. It’s also about being part of the right nightlife: where you go, who you party with, and how late you can keep going. Which is precisely what makes Ibiza such a naturally fashionable—summer destination. There’s actually a few places that embody such an intersection of fashion, status and partying quite like the Spanish island.

Fashion loves Ibiza for a lot of reasons. (Fashion mogul Michèle Lamy has a house there; countless editorials and campaigns are shot in Ibiza every year.) But chief among them is because it’s an island of endless parties with A-list backgrounds. The crowded presence of brands through nightclubs, hotels, and playas takeovers, has been growing, with each summer becoming more saturated than the last.

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Very cool French fragrance label Le Labo also made its way to Ibiza’s El Silencio beach this year. Its installation, ‘Le Labo On Wheel’, open until August 16, consists in a vintage truck of “a curated selection of [Le Labo’s] creations”, located in very trendy Cala Molí’s Southern Ibiza.

Remember?

When in, July 2024, the ultimate party girl, Charli xcx, threw a surprise Brat Summer party on the very same beach, sending social media into a frenzy? The Essex-born then jumped behind the decks for an impromptu DJ set at the eponymous Boiler Room stage. A performance that’s since become legendary.

“We thought the beach was amazingly made for a cute setting of our fragrances”, fashionable drifter and Le Labo’s Head of PR Greg Kohler commented.

Greg knew very well the place’s antecedents. That it was: a crossroads and global showcase, unlike any other, to catch the layers of cool any brand would. El Silencio Beach does nothing, exactly; yet, somehow, does everything! Charli xcx and her Brat Summer’s aura still live on. Two years later, the beach has remained the ultimate—desirable, cool, attractive—place to be in Ibiza.

“Here, you get Ibiza’s best crowds. Exactly the kind of people a premium brand wants to reach. It’s always a worthwhile investment, no matter the cost”, smiled Greg. He didn’t have to say it was an expensive place to invest, I could tell. Was it worth it? Only time could tell. In terms of media impact, it’s already a win for Greg though. Just look at the flood of Instagram Stories featuring the Labo truck...

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Another proof of Ibiza being the party girl/fashionable summer destination was…

…the Catalonian brand Twojeys 7th anniversary held at hedonistic rock ‘n’ roll hideaway and legendary club/hotel Pikes.

Just so you realize how a party it was, you need to be familiar with Ibiza’s reputation. And if you were under the illusion that the island had outgrown its party clichés like me, you couldn’t have been more mistaken. “Maricón, when’s the music starting?”, shouted party girl Elena, a Margherita frozen in hands. The 47-year-old mom with three children at home in Madrid was yelling at the pool DJ guy at 11AM time.

As my friend, stylist Victor Vergara and I made our way, the morning before the party, to Los Felices hotel resort’s swimming area, Victor just spoke the one defining word of Ibiza’s every summer season: afters. All over the week, whenever and whatever the time, you’d see these after people. Until you quietly slip into their world. In short: you either party, or you’re out.

“Rihanna is coming.”

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Presenting The Defrost, my new Substack baby. After nearly a decade in the magazine industry, I felt it was time to carve a space of my own.

Journalists often discern hot and cold stories. A hot story is driven by urgency; it demands immediate attention and is published while the news is still unfolding. A cold story, on the other hand, isn’t t…

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