If you've ever suffered through the underlit wastes of Hotel Costes then you know what this room feels like

"I really like it when people don't necessarily have the right stuff in their homes. I like errors; its what shows personality. When everything is perfect it's called "the tastes of the times" and I find it terrifying. I like the bad moments in life or bad moments with family which put you where you should be and not where you think you should be. Even when one has acquired good taste , its good to keep the memory of a time when you didn't have any. The more taste you have, the more you should let yourself not have any , and to assume and create mistakes"

Jacques Garcia to John Armleder and Nicholas Trembley in Self-Service#29

To continue the theme of stumbling, the very first exhibit I saw this weekend in Paris was a collaboration between eminent French interior designer Jacques Garcia and Swiss artist John Armleder at the Swiss Institute. I didn't really know what I was looking at, having walked into a room that sought to treat interior design as an art expression and artwork that sublimated themselves to the function of decor. Jacques Garcia I knew from his infamous work at Hotel Costes , as well as his explorations at Laudree and Fouquet's. Armleder I vaguely knew as the founder of the "Ecart" group in the late 60's. It was a strange combination. The dark, richly scented room was a mad collage of a Baltard-style padoga with surreal additions and twists. Exotic "Orentialism" and illogical Dada babbling with each other in other words. I tried taking pictures but the rule was "no flash please": thus the blurred and under-lit image here which I apologize for. I'm really glad that I didn't delete it though because after picking up the new Self-Service at Colette I stumbled across an interview with the parties involved, explaining the thrust behind their concepts. It is all I have as a record of the experience and I fully recommend that every fashion head in town endeavor to see this "piece". Its too lush!