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Understand houses and craft
Why French luxury combines creativity, industry and global image.
Read the guideA guide to FranceTravel, culture and everyday life
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Fashion, beauty & luxury
Runways, French houses, beauty, jewellery, palace hotels and shopping: the pieces, places, craft and decisions shaping French style.54 guides to exploreA USEFUL STARTING POINT
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Choose the dossier that answers your next question. Background and the complete directory are just below.
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Paris fashion museums
Where to see clothing, jewellery, textiles and archives, how to check rotations and build a visit day.
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France’s ultra-fast-fashion levy takes effect on 1 September
France has applied a levy to ultra-fast-fashion products since 1 September 2026, following publication of the implementing order in the Official Journal on 28 August.
Read the guideUNDERSTAND BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Separate the runway, discovery and purchase
Fashion can be explored through collections, craft and places. A runway calendar is not automatically a public visitor programme.
Choose the right experience
Without a professional invitation, look for an exhibition, museum or event explicitly open to the public. Check the session and reservation. Collection-presentation dates do not guarantee runway admission or that the same pieces are already in shops.
Buy with clear documentation
For new or resale goods, check the seller, condition, dimensions, invoice, returns and fees. A photograph alone cannot certify authenticity. Comparison tools help you ask useful questions; they do not replace object inspection or the seller's terms.
The sector, the object and the environmental rule
Understanding luxury as a sector does not verify a purchase. Begin with houses, craft and the distinction between couture and ready-to-wear, then examine the exact product’s composition and terms. The levy dossier adds a different layer: an announced ceiling is not your basket’s final price. Neither price nor a famous name alone establishes authenticity, quality or environmental compliance. Keep the description, invoice and written conditions so that comparisons concern genuinely equivalent offers, rather than confusing the story of a house with evidence about one item.
THE FRA9 COUNTER
Three desks, one decision library.
Enter through fashion, beauty or luxury, then compare pieces, materials, places and service without sales language.01
Fashion & design
Houses, couture, ready-to-wear, history and museums.
10 guidesExplore the desk02
Beauty & fragrance
Pharmacy, skin, fragrance, makeup and hair.
9 guidesExplore the desk03
Luxury & craft
Bags, jewellery, watches, palace hotels, care and safer buying.
14 guidesExplore the deskFRA9 · PORTAL SELECTION
01—0901 · Economy & expertise
Luxury and fashion
Why French luxury combines creativity, industry and global image.
Read →02 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
Fashion museums in Paris: Galliera, Decorative Arts and archives
Where to see clothing, jewellery, textiles and archives, how to check rotations and build a visit day.
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03 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
Hermès: understanding the house beyond the bag
From harnesses and silk to leather and home: the history, crafts and creative logic of a house that is more than the Birkin and Kelly.
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04 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
Luxury bags: spotting authentic pieces and avoiding fakes
A logo, stitch or serial number is never enough. Use provenance, seller, construction, documents and independent expertise together.
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05 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
Luxury shopping in Paris: districts, houses and strategy
A goal-, time-, pace- and start-led route across Montaigne, Saint-Honoré, Vendôme, Haussmann, Palais-Royal and the Left Bank.
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06 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
Paris luxury resale: pre-purchase deal lab
Assess seller, evidence, returns, payment, condition and total cost before buying pre-owned luxury, without confusing documentary risk with authenticity.
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07 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
French perfume matcher: testing and authenticity
Find three directions by family, intensity, setting and climate, then use a testing card, EU label checks and counterfeit safeguards.
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08 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
French beauty: skincare, makeup and pharmacy
Beyond the viral basket: how to read a formula, choose skincare, shop at a pharmacy and avoid impossible promises.
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09 · Fashion, beauty & luxury
Place Vendôme: jewellery, watches and how to buy
Understand stones, signatures and after-sales service before being dazzled by the window.
Read →FRA9 · INDEX
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